Gravitation
by Love's Essence
Summary: Kagome, forced into a male disguise to join a band, meets famous novelist Sesshomaru. After blackmailing her way into his home, he still has no idea he's a she, what could possibly happen? Rated M for language and Lemons! Partially based off Gravitation.
1. Hell Hath No Fury Like Kagome

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha or any of the other Inu-Yasha characters. This story is partially based on the anime series Gravitation, but it is mostly mine. **

"_**Love is a force of nature… it's gravitation."**_

**Gravitation**

Chapter 1: Hell Hath No Fury Like Kagome

Kagome checked the interior of her wallet for the fifth time that day, the outcome was the same as the past four times: it was still empty; with a sigh she closed it and tucked it away in the safety of her purse. Today had not been a very productive day for her; at the moment she was walking back to her apartment complex after yet another failed attempt for a job. She had thought she had finally hit it big when a man she took to be a talent scout scheduled an interview with her, handed her his card: Hiroki Nagi, _Eye Candy Strip Bar _Owner; upon seeing this she promptly crumpled up the card and smacked him upside the head.

She folded her arms and scuffed the toe of her high heel shoes against the concrete. _'Ugh! How dare he! I'm a singer damnit! Kagome doesn't strip for anybody... even if he was eye candy in his own right...' _A mild blush crept up on her face as the urge to drool upon thinking of the man's figure became hard to control. She froze, shocked at her own actions and quickly waved her hands in front of her face while shaking her head vigorously. _'Whoa there Kagome, don't let your imagination get away with you... again.' _She closed her eyes and sighed in defeat; a low rumbling stopped her short.

"Great, just great. Now I'm broke and hungry too."

She picked up the pace of her walk; the sooner she got back to her apartment the sooner she could enjoy a steaming bowl of microwave noodles. Unfortunately, the promise of food took her attention away from the ground below her and a chunk of concrete sticking up snagged her foot and she tumbled gracelessly to the ground

"Ow."

She managed out, in pain, but was more embarrassed than anything else; the empty organ growled once again and she whined.

"Please stomach, stay quite for a little while longer."

Kagome tenderly pushed off the ground, back up on her feet and brushed herself off; other than some skinned knees and sore wrists she was fine. Things were just not going in her favor today; she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly and when she opened them again, her face held the look of determination as she raised a clenched fist eye level. _'Stay positive girl! You'll find a job and besides things could be worse; at least you still have a place to live.' _With her confidence renewed she walked the rest of the way home with her head held high; upon arriving at her apartment she saw a yellow paper taped to her door as she drew up the words became clear enough for her to read "Notice of Eviction". Appalled she ripped the paper off her door and read it over with accumulated rage reaching its zenith.

"Four months without pay?! Bullshit!"

With the notice clenched in her fist she stormed up the stairs to her landlord's residence and pounded on the door so hard that the dust that had collected above was now falling off.

"Hakudoshi! You bastard open this god damn door right now!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring about the vulgar form of language she used, around here no one ever cared. The girl heard movement inside and a few moments later her demon landlord appeared in all of his fully-grown, white-haired, violet-eyed, no-shirt-on glory.

"You called, baby?"

He smirked as he looked down upon her and she wasn't intimidated by his height or strength as she shoved the papers in his face.

"What the hell is this?!"

She demanded and he scanned it up and down before looking back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You forget how to read?"

Out of anger she threw down the papers and stuck an accusing finger in his direction; he didn't seem the least bit concerned, in fact, he seemed to be enjoying the little rampage this lovely figure had.

"We had an agreement! I sing for your stupid parties, get grabbed, degraded, and leered at and you consider my payment fulfilled!"

He thought for a moment, looking up in the distance as if he was searching his memory to account for her accusation until the little performance of his ended and his violet eyes snapped back to pierce straight into hers. She didn't like the look he was giving her; she froze as his head slowly descended down towards her, too close for comfort and violating her space. His mouth lightly brushed against the shell of her ear, she shivered in disgust at the contact as he whispered into it.

"I don't see any agreement papers."

She quickly pushed him and he let her; if it were possible, she was even angrier than before. Kagome paused for a moment as she saw a different look in her landlord's eyes, it was not the mocking from before, but she had seen this look enough times: lust.

"You know if you want to stay so badly I know a way that might make me forget for a week of two."

He stepped out of the door frame with an air of male smugness and confidence making her wary and her defenses quickly went up; for every step she took back, he took one forward until he had her up against the second story balcony railing. There was nowhere left to run now, by placing both hands on either side of her on the railing he boxed her in and spread out his legs to prevent her from ducking underneath him. He was close again, _way _too close for her liking. Her miko (priestess) aura flared up in alarm; it was true that she was a priestess, but in ability only, she had given up her title and that way of life when she left home.

Her family came from a long line of priests and priestesses; her father had seen first hand her natural affinity for becoming a great spiritualist, the strength she carried with her and trained her from a young age, taught her in the ways of the miko, how to fight, to purify, to properly defend herself, but it had been so long, she had shut that part of herself down, hid it from prying eyes and feared what the outcome would be if she tapped into that part of her again. _'Otou-san(Father)... help me.' _She whispered in her mind as she shut her eyes tightly with her heart pounding out of control.

"_Find their weakness Kagome."_

_A young girl of six looked up at her father standing before her in the traditional robes of the priesthood holding a __bokken__ (a traditional Japanese weapon, it's a substitute for the Japanese sword, instead of the blade being made out of metal this one is made entirely out of wood). _

"_But before you can find your enemies weakness, you must know and master your own. Tell me Kagome, what is your weakness?"_

_The girl's gaze went from her father to the ground; she toyed with the edges of her priestess robes of red and white and picked at a splinter in her bokken, questions like this always made her nervous. When she looked up, her father's gaze was still upon her, waiting patiently for a response. _

"_Fear."_

_The single word mumbled out of her mouth; her father smiled and pointed his weapon at her._

"_Then use your fear Kagome, allow the adrenaline to course through you, concentrate it and then..."_

_Kagome closed her eyes and listened to the pounding of her heart, felt the power in her veins, blocking everything else out, but it took a while, she was still new at this. Her father could see the outlines of blue flames dancing around her; he smiled as pride filled his heart and nodded his head._

"_... let it go!"_

_As he said those words he swung his bokken around and brought it straight down towards her head. Her eyes snapped open, in a flash her hands moved the weapon with grace and skill and blocked his attack. She stood there stunned, for she didn't even see her own hands move. One moment her father was attacking her, the next his weapon was laying on the ground, the force of her power knocked it out of his hands. _

"_Very good, Kagome." _

Kagome snapped her eyes open, slightly stunned with the memory fresh in her mind; okay then, his weakness, what was it? The answer quickly became obvious by the way he looked at her, tried to touch her; her brain clicked and an idea formed in her head and she mentally crossed her fingers that he would be stupid enough to fall for it. She smiled seductively, hiding her miko aura beneath a façade of sensual movements to distract the alarm bells going off in his head; she wrapped her arms around his neck and playfully toyed with his long white hair.

"Oh really?"

She said in her sweetest voice and pressed herself lightly against him, the act convinced Hakudoshi enough and he visibly relaxed and let his guard down. Big mistake. The moment she felt his senses dim she yanked him down and drove her knee right into his groin; the demon cried out once in pain and doubled over clutching the injured area. When he looked up through teary, blurred vision he saw both her middle fingers pointed in his direction.

"Go slip on a banana peel and drop dead!"

With that said she grabbed the railing and jumped over it, falling down to the first story concrete; she released a burst of her power and slowed the fall, protecting her from injury, but before ran away she looked back up to see him peering down at her.

"Oh yeah, and fuck you!"

She yelled at the top of her lungs and took off in a sprint, she fumbled to get the keys out of her purse and put it the correct one in the lock; her hands were shaking so much. When the girl finally got the door open she leapt inside and slammed it shut, fell back on her rear end and leaned against the wall; with her eyes closed she could feel her former self reawakening, her power humming her veins like it never left. Kagome was a priestess again. She didn't allow herself to move from where she was until her aura and adrenaline calmed down.

"Thanks Dad."

She whispered for the little gem of information he gave her, but realizing the situation she just put herself in she groaned out of regret and misery. Even though she lived in a shady part of the city, room was cheap, she just had to watch out the perverts, the wannabe yakuza (and authentic ones too), the thieves and all those other low lives. These apartments were the last resort for most because they didn't have the money or were kicked out from everywhere else. She had felt ashamed when she moved in hoping her family would never find out, but this place was still a legitimate place to stay; an intact roof, hot, but mostly cold running water, and electricity. Oh well, so much for this dump.

"Shit. What am I gonna do now?"

Because of the little incident she had just caused, she felt it would be in her best interest if she left the next morning. Kagome looked around her tiny one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with a kitchen that also doubled as the living room. With no furniture and most of her belongings still at home, she could probably have everything packed up by morning, but where could she stay? She could never go back home, she still had too much pride left to prove that her crazy idea of becoming a singer didn't work out like she expect, plus she didn't want to burden them by having another mouth to feed; can't stay at a motel or inn, hell if she couldn't afford living _here _how could she afford one of those?

With a snort she figured that now her abilities had reawakened she could dust off her old garbs and do dirt cheap exorcisms and blessings, but again, she knew that wouldn't really work. She wanted to make a living off her voice and returning to her old way of life would provide the unneeded 'I-told-you-so' from her family. No, she absolutely would not allow that to happen. Fresh out of ideas she took out her very feminine, pink cell phone began going through her extensive list of friends and family, who knew maybe they could lend her a hand until she could get herself back on her feet.

As she was searching down one name stood out from all the others: Aki, her best friend since elementary school; in their teens they founded the band: Bad Luck and played small time local gigs for pocket change, but as Kagome got older, for a reason she couldn't remember, she decided to go solo; she and Aki went their separate ways. Last time he called was three weeks ago; it took him three months to get a new band together and now he and his band were cutting through miles of red tape to green light their record deal.

With her permission, Aki kept the name that the two of them came up with in order to preserve the memories of the band's roots. A little spark lit up in her eyes; perhaps they already hit it big? She wouldn't know, she couldn't afford a TV or even the damn newspaper; out of the year and a half she had lived by herself she learned one thing: being poor was a pain. But, at that moment, she didn't care about money, she just wanted to see an old friend again which was why she was going to call him up and beg him for a job as road crew. She pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear, after a few rings and no answer she was about to hang up when a tired voice on the other end stammered out a meager

"Hello?"

She was both ecstatic and worried when she heard his voice, it was a mixture of pure exhaustion and frustration; she couldn't help thinking that Aki was having his period.

"Hey Aki it's me! Are you okay? I haven't heard you sound this tired since we pulled those two all-nighters together to study for finals."

She laughed half-heartedly, hoping to cheer him up and he couldn't help but smile in response.

"Hi Kagome, sorry I haven't been calling; we've been completely swamped by corporate bastards. They refuse to leave us in peace until we add another member to our band."

He sighed, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose to rid himself of his ever growing headache; from the way he spoke to her she could tell he was about ready to tear his hair out. Feeling his anxiety all the way from his apartment to hers she absently sang a little tune that she hoped would improve his spirits.

"_I'm falling further down_

_to the reincarnation to you I say_

_color your eyes, without smiling alone._

_Even if the world you've long for_

_has suddenly burned to ash_

_the miracle could still happen to come again."_

She waited expectantly for the positive results to present themselves; after all, she was singing a song by Nittle Grasper, the band Bad Luck, back when it was just the two of them, worshipped and always wanted to become; the dead silence on his end didn't pass by her notice. _'Oh crap, did I make it worse?' _She thought and then laughed nervously trying to change the subject.

"Uh sorry about that; sometimes I can't help myself. Anyway, I was just calling to see if you had an opening somewhere on your staff; I'll do anything: moving equipment, set-up, even transportation."

Aki felt like kicking himself; how could he have forgotten Kagome's voice? The girl had some damn good talent and it was the whole reason why the two split up. He noticed that after her song had finished his headache had somehow gone away; in fact, he felt better than he had in days. His guilt was quickly overridden when he looked back at his burned out band mates and then back at the phone; an idea hatched in his mind and he couldn't help but sound a little over excited.

"Kagome, do you know where Tohma Studios is?"

"Of course."

She responded immediately, remembering how she had used some of her precious savings to buy herself studio time there to record her demo. It's expensive, but they do good work there; she sent her demo CD about a month ago, but still hadn't got a response, she wasn't going to get her hopes up.

"Great! Meet me there outside the front entrance at nine. You've got yourself a job."

A huge smile couldn't help but spread across her face.

"Really?! Oh thank you Aki! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

Kagome was about to say goodbye when she turned around, looked at her apartment, and the situation she had put herself in smacked her in the face and the big smile slowly faded away. She bit her lower lip unsure of what to do; her friend already gave her a job, she felt bad asking for more, but if his band was really getting signed then they should have plenty of money to spare.

"Uh Aki…"

He could hear the preparation for the asking of a favor in her voice; he playfully rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What do you need?"

He spoke with a slightly amused tone, but she didn't catch it.

"Transportation and a place to stay."

She said without missing a beat and before he could say anything she told him the fresh events that had transpired between her and Hakudoshi; when she finished there was a pregnant pause between them. He sighed and threw his hands up in the air in defeat and couldn't help but laugh at the fact that the craziest things always happened to her.

"I'll give you a ride and you can stay with the band in our apartment complex."

She smiled, not daring to question his generosity lest he change his mind.

"Thanks Aki, you're a life saver."

"Keh, well somebody's gotta be there to save your ass."

She snorted and put her free hand on her hip.

"Don't presume that I'm always in need of saving."

She warned and he laughed again and shook his head.

"The thought never crossed my mind."

And without saying goodbye they both hung up, knowing that they could fill in the gaps between them face to face instead of over the phone. Aki pressed the button that ended their conversation and turned to his band.

"Guys, we've got ourselves a lead singer. I'll be bringing her here tomorrow morning to rehearse with us."

Four sets of eyes and heads snapped towards him at the statement, all taken aback by what he had just said; their bassist, Koga, was the first to step forward.

"_Her_, uh Aki, are you feeling alright?"

He nodded his head and the members exchanged slightly worried looks.

"Did you forget that we signed a contract as an _all guy_ band, as in no girls what-so-ever?"

He nodded his head and waved an uncaring hand towards them.

"Don't worry guys, I've got it all figured out."

Again, more looks were exchanged and this time Miroku, their keyboardist spoke up.

"What are you gonna do? Give her a sex change right in the middle of the studio?"

This time he laughed, grabbed his guitar and began plucking away at the strings like he didn't have a care in the world; a devious smile tugged at the edges of his lips.

"Something like that."

The band mates instantly became wary of his laid back look with that mischievous twinkle in his eye; whatever was in store of this girl was obviously something worth worrying about.

* * *

The next morning Kagome stood in the middle of her complex's parking lot with a stack of boxes containing all her possessions behind her. She had been careful to avoid Hakudoshi all that morning, she taped her apartment keys to his door and when she was transferring her belongings from her apartment to the parking lot she moved quickly and quietly. She did look pretty stupid though trying to run silently with two over-packed boxes under each arm, it was more of a challenge than she first anticipated.

Nervously, she looked at her watch and then behind her to see if Hakudoshi had discovered that she was running away, Aki wasn't here yet and the anxiety was getting to her. She calmed her nerves by ensuring herself that he was still in bed; she sent out a tiny wave of her power out in all directions; it acted like her own radar seeking out and focusing on one's demonic or spiritual power. Much to her relief, she found the damn pervert was still in bed, in too much pain from her blow he couldn't even get out of bed. Even though he was a demon, she had used a lot of her spiritual energy in her kick so he should be there a while. She smirked knowing that she had accomplished something that probably many women had wanted to do for years.

"Hey."

She jumped and spun around when she heard a voice from behind her; a six foot two man with blood red hair that went half way down to his back smiled down upon her. Dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans he didn't look like much of the rocker Kagome knew he was. A huge smile pulled at the edges of her lips and she couldn't resist herself as she jumped up and latched onto his neck.

"Aki!"

She squealed like a little school girl and tightened her grip.

"Ak! Kagome it's good to see you too, but I need my oxygen."

Realizing the extent of her death grip she quickly leapt off of him and smiled; he looked around at her stuff and pointed to it.

"This all yours?"

She nodded her head and picked up one of the boxes, he did the same and they both headed to his car; they managed to cram them all in the trunk and back seats. As he drove them out of the parking lot Kagome switched on the radio and turned it to their favorite station and on the way to the studio they lost themselves to the songs, singing in harmony like they always used to. It was as if nothing had ever changed, they picked up right where they left off like a chapter in a book.

"So do you have a girlfriend yet?"

She screamed over the music that was blaring from his speakers.

"No."

He cried back.

"Boyfriend?"

She asked; he gave her a dirty look and she burst out laughing.

"What about you?"

He questioned and she shook her head.

"Nope. There's been no one since you."

It was true, they dated for a couple of months, but it didn't work out; they had been best friends for the longest time, they felt like family, but Aki mistook his brotherly affection for a crush and asked her out one day. Never having a boyfriend before, she thought that she could force herself to have more intimate feelings for him, but no such luck. Their "love life" was just too awkward, holding hands felt weird and whenever they tried to kiss, they always chickened out. To salvage their friendship they broke up. Kagome would always be his best friend, anything more was just too much; he would always care for her, protect her, but through past experiences he found out that she could take care of herself when it came to protection.

He was always leery about her spiritual abilities; the power the emanating off of her sent mild chills running up and down his spine; he always knew she was strong, never forgot that, as were her father and older sister Kikyo. Her father was an all around spiritual prodigy, excelled in every way, when he trained his two daughters his saw that his eldest leaned more towards the healing and purifying arts, her abilities were graceful and precise, but focused correctly and they were as effectively lethal; his younger daughter was much less elegant and clean in her power, but made up for it by the staggering level and her tendency to pick a fight geared her training to be in the martial arts and self-control.

"We're here."

He finally said after a half-hour drive; they stepped out and walked in through the front doors which opened up automatically to reveal a vast lobby; it took three stories to reach the ceiling, black marble floor, and multiple secretaries all behind an intimidating stone desk. She knew it was all a façade to show the place had a lot of money to throw away, but that didn't stop her mouth from dropping open stupidly as she openly gaped at the casual luxury of the place.

Kagome stepped inside, confident, like she belonged there, even if it was just to clean up after Aki's band; she wore a figure-hugging shirt and snug jeans and only a small amount of make-up since she didn't know if her job was going to be laborious enough to make her sweat. She walked in expecting to be noticed and recognized, but Aki on the other hand had a completely different idea in mind; the moment her foot set inside the building Aki was right in front of her shielding her from everyone's view. He didn't want her to be seen by anyone the way she was now.

"What the hell is going on?!"

She hissed after being shoved behind a random bush; her best friend quickly put a finger to his lips in the universal sign of "shut-up"!

"Shh! Be quiet! I promise I'll explain to you once we get up to our studio."

She continued to get shoved and yanked behind him or some large object; it was only until they were inside the elevator did he finally give her some breathing space, but when the doors opened it started all over again. There were less people on the twenty-third floor where Aki's band and one other practiced and recorded all of their songs. He looked down both ends of the halls before quickly bringing her in front of him and shoving her inside the recording studio. Mission accomplished and he let out a sigh of relief, but she wasn't; not noticing the four band boys behind her, she turned around and faced her crimson haired friend as he quietly and calmly closed the door behind them. The moment she knew the door was closed she stormed up, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him into wall.

"What the hell was that all about?!"

She screamed none too gently in his ear and wasn't afraid to let him see the extent of her power as she released some of her spiritual energy, now that it was out and active again, she decided to use it to her advantage. It took the form of translucent blue flames and ripples, pulses of cold energy completely coating her; feeling the chilly burn he coughed into his hand and tried to regain some of his composure.

"Kagome, before you maim me, may I introduce you to the band?"

He extended his hand out; she looked over her shoulder and paled; there stood four guys frozen in place with identical expressions of shock all plastered on their faces: eyes wide and jaws practically touching the floor. Seeing as she just botched her first impression, the miko tried to do a little damage control by quickly letting go of Aki, turning and faced the band with her hands clasped nervously behind her back, and laughed in a shaky voice.

"Hehe… um, hi. I'm Kagome."

The band turned to their guitarist accusingly.

"_This _is _her_?!"

Inu-Yasha, the band's drummer, cried out exacerbated, but when Kagome took notice of him she could have cared less for she was too fixated on the adorable set of doggy ears covered in multiple piercings perched on his head of silver-white hair. Without a word she walked up to him and he froze thinking he was going to be fried until he saw the mesmerized look her face; before he knew it she grabbed his ears.

"So cute!"

She squealed like a little girl and he was about to protest when she began rubbing them; he shamelessly lost himself to his animal nature, closed his eyes in bliss and snuggled closer; Miroku smirked and picked up the sheet music that had fallen out of his hand when she first came into the room.

"Looks like she's won Inu-Yasha's heart."

Upon hearing this, the half-demon snapped out of his daze and quickly pulled away from her, his face already turning red; the half-demon huffed and looked turned away to save himself from further embarrassment and the band laughed, not even trying to hide their humor in his suffering. Her gaze found the youngest member: their DJ dressed up in his street clothes with his orange hair tied back in a high ponytail and his vibrant green eyes downcast, he looked like a punk kid who was raised on the streets, but didn't belong in them. With his hair up she could see his pointed elfish ears and half covered by his shirt were two long and sleek cream-colored tails; he glanced up at her once and when their eyes met he quickly looked away again, embarrassed, but she caught enough to see the slit pupils set in a deep forest green. He was a pureblood demon, it was easy enough to see, but she didn't seem to care as she impaled him.

"You're adorable too!"

She cried and caught him in a death-like vice, but preferred to call it a hug; his cheeks quickly turned red as his face was smack dab in the middle of her chest, smothered in their softness; being only fifteen and generally innocent he wasn't exactly experienced in this kind of situation. As strange and as unpredictable as the girl was, the embarrassment and humor caused by her actions were priceless teasing fodder as the few who hadn't been noticed by her snickered at their youngest member's misfortune.

"Kagome let Shippo go. I thought you wanted to know why you're here and I can't tell you if you suffocate one of my guys."

Aki came to the poor kid's rescue; she released him and he quickly pulled away trying to catch his breath.

"Didn't you bring me here to help load all of you're crap onto some truck?"

While the band mates were confused and exchanged puzzled glances the red-haired guitarist looked at her dead in the eye, his look quickly went from playful to serious.

"Kagome, how much would you sacrifice to be in a band, to be famous and have hundreds of thousands of fans?"

"Anything."

She answered easily with no doubt, but becoming slightly suspicious.

"Would you sacrifice your gender?"

That question threw her for a loop and she gave him a funny look.

"What the hell kind of a question is that?"

He looked over at the band that was preparing themselves for a lot of screaming; no matter how he tried to go about saying what he wanted to say, he knew that no scenario would make her happy and mentally crossed his fingers for a mild reaction.

"We both have one major issue going on at the moment, Kagome and I think we can help each other out here. Bad Luck needs a lead singer and you need a job and a place to stay; so here's the deal: you join our band and be our singer and all of your financial and living needs will be taken care of."

She raised an eyebrow.

"_But_."

She said for him and he was a little hesitant when answering, rubbed the back of his neck as a show of nervousness, looking at anything but her.

"A couple things changed after you and I split up Kagome; I tried finding a new female lead singer, but they were all useless, so when I brought this new band together I wasn't really thinking too clearly and drew up a contract that Bad Luck would become the face of Tohma Studios new boy band, it's our trademark, so in order for you to be in the band you'll have to… make some changes."

Realization dawned on her and as expected she exploded; luckily for the band, they already stuffed their ears with the cotton Aki gave them while she was latched onto Shippo.

"You want me to be a _guy_?! What the hell? Did you smoke something funny this morning or did are you really asking me this dry sober?! No! No! No! _Fuck no!_ How can you even suggest such a thing?!"

She paused only for a slight moment to take in enough air for one last comment about his proposal.

"Go dress-up in your own drag if you want to play the gender-bender game because I won't!"

Those of demon blood in the band felt like their ears were about to bleed; if it wasn't for the soundproof room no doubt half of the building would have heard her. When she was done she took a few deep breaths, grabbed her purse and made her way towards the door, but a hand shot out and grabbed her gently, but solidly by the elbow, bringing her back to face him.

"Kagome listen to me! This is your dream! I know it's not exactly the way you wanted it, but you've got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to make it big! Why not try it?"

He had a bit of a point; she wasn't getting anywhere by herself, her efforts had driven her out of money, job and luck, nobody wanted another single female singer, it wasn't bringing in the people anymore. She also took into account the things he wasn't saying out loud, the words hung heavily in the air; he was desperate, if she didn't join Tohma Records would drop their record deal. Her eyes went from his face to the other band members, all waited patiently for her answer, their expressions didn't help much in her decision-making. _'Oh God am I going to regret this.' _

"Show me what you've got."

She said when she looked back at her long time friend; he smiled and motioned for the band to set-up; they all parted instantly and went to their own respective equipment. Inu-Yasha twirled his sticks as he sat down behind his drum set, Koga placed the strap over his shoulder and began tuning his bass by adjusting the strings, Shippo slipped the oversized headphones on his ears and brought out several records, as Miroku walked past her he slipped some lyrics into her hand before setting himself up at his keyboard, and Aki placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before walking over to the stand where his guitar rested. In truth the band members were about as skeptical over her as she was over them. She looked over the sheet music and lyrics entitled: "First Time", read them a couple of times seeing when and how she was supposed to sing and what cues would signal her entrance.

The song started with Shippo, Aki and Inu-Yasha in a balance of sounds blending energetically together, setting the mood; she began to feel the beat pulse through her body, wrapping her hands around the microphone she took a deep breath and came in.

"We're both looking for something we've been afraid to find.

It's easier to be broken, it's easier to hide."

"Looking at you, holding my breath

for once in my life I'm scared to death

I'm taking a chance, letting you inside."

She was instantly enthralled by the music and didn't even realize that everyone was staring at her completely taken aback; her voice captured and left them almost begging for more. They were just as amazed by her as she was by them, but not Aki, being exposed to both sides' talents he just stood back, strummed on his guitar and smiled.

"I'm feeling alive all over again,

as deep as the sky, under my skin

like being in love, she says for the first time.

Well, maybe I'm wrong,

but I'm feeling right where I belong

with you tonight like being in love

can feel for the first time."

"The world that I see inside you waiting to come to life.

Waking me up to dreaming, reality in your eyes."

With Aki's lead, everyone else snapped back into focus and followed behind Kagome's voice as it quickly lost them to its spell; unbeknownst to them they had an audience pressing their ears up against the locked door. Before the band was only playing half-hearted, unconfident and unsure if there was even a point to their presence here, but as they allowed the music and that voice to take control, half-hearted just wasn't enough, the song on general principles deserved better and, only half way through, they gave it. By the end of the second refrain, sweat from the sheer effort they gave began to drip down the sides of their faces.

"We're crashing into the unknown.

We're lost in this, but it feels like home."

"I'm feeling alive all over again

as deep as the sky, under my skin

like being in love, she says for the first time.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm feeling right where I belong

with you tonight like being in love

can feel for the first time."

"Like being in love, she said, for the first time.

Like being in love can feel for the first time."

As the song faded away and the last bit of Aki's part ended they all stood there, too stunned to say anything, but knew what the other was thinking: she's in. She knew it too; once that song was over, that high she felt, that all encompassing feeling she could no longer live without would only be obtained with them, with this band. She took a couple of deep breaths before turning to Aki, the biggest grin on her face.

"Where do I sign?"

There was a general burst of excitement from everyone knowing that they just snagged this priceless gem of talent; there was something about her that sent them spiraling into the world she created with her voice. Exhausted from before, now they were pumped up; the anxiety and stress that had been plaguing them was gone. Singing was her form of healing, the only way to channel her destructive aura in a way that helped instead of hindered; she could soothe or excite on a whim and mend just by willing it so.

"You'll sign in just a minute; you've got the part, no doubt, but now you need the costume."

The joy from before plummeted to the bottom of her stomach and was replaced with dread as she hesitantly allowed Aki to grab her by the hand and lead her to a lone chair Miroku had set up.

"Now?"

She whined like a little kid and he turned to her, hands cautiously resting on her shoulders and guiding her to sit down which she did very timidly.

"Now."

The band placed their instruments down and went into their packs, pulling out various items that would serve as Kagome's disguise. Shippo brought the clothes since he and Kagome were relatively the same size, Miroku brought the scissors to cut her hair, he was the designated hairstylist because, for very immoral reasons, he was good with his hands, Inu-Yasha brought different extras: hats, shoes, sunglasses, etc, and Koga brought some padding to get rid of the curves that she was blessed with, which included long stretchy strips of cloth to hopefully flatten her chest.

The moment she sat in the chair her hands and feet were bound to it.

"What the hell?!"

She cried and tugged violently at the bonds, but they held her down.

"Look Kagome this is for your own good; well, mostly for ours, but please just do this for us."

The red-head reasoned with her and she calmed down, not liking it one bit especially when Miroku came around with the scissors. Her eyes went wide at the sight of them and darted back to Aki accusingly who gave her an apologetic look; she refused to close her eyes as her long hair was skillfully made short, she was able to keep her long bangs, but everything else was shortened to a few inches. They all crowded around her, each watching intently on her transformation; the binding was next and Miroku made sure not to miss out, he volunteered to do the deed, but the guitarist strangely butted in and decided to instead.

"Sorry Kagome."

Aki said in advance as his hands slowly went up her blouse; he knew he would have been fried by her purification if she didn't trust his good intentions. He reached around to undo the straps of her bra and she instantly went stiff with self-consciousness as the garment was removed and snipped off of her arms. She didn't like being surrounded by male strangers with no undergarments on, but the feeling was only made worse when he wrapped the straps around her chest. He was blushing furiously, refusing to look up at her for he knew what her expression would be, the "try-anything-and-you're dead" look. She gasped when her long-time friend suddenly yanked hard on the cloth, constricting the binding and tightly flattening her chest; several layers were added on until her entire upper torso was covered.

Lastly came the padding, proving to be the most difficult since they boys did not take into account just how ticklish the miko was. With a lot of screaming and biting on her part and their strength in numbers they got rid of her curves. They untied her and Shippo handed her the clothes, turned their backs to give her some privacy, but Miroku had to be restrained by half the band to keep him from looking. Checking every few seconds, Kagome slipped off her blouse and fitted jeans and removed her feminine styled sneakers; she pulled the t-shirt over head and slipped on the loose pants, slightly taken aback by how comfortable they felt; unlike the constriction of tight flashy shirts and pants, these were comfy like pajamas.

"You can look now."

She called and they immediately turned around; she still look like a girl, but if they tried hard enough to sell her image as a guy, people might believe them. They played around with her like a life-size doll, trying on different hats and shoes, backpacks and even jewelry; when they were satisfied they shoved her out of the door and into the men's room, she inwardly groaned and suppressed the shiver that wanted to crawl down her spine, another thing about her life that was forever going to change. They turned her around so she could see her reflection in the mirror; her eyes widened, she reached out and touched the surface of the mirror. Kagome looked like a guy, well, a pretty boy, but a guy none the less and looked back at them with raised eyebrows.

"You do good work, granted scary, violating, and down right creepy work, but good work. I could fool my sister with this get-up."

They smiled in response, satisfied with their job well done and turned to leave, but Aki stopped them; he reached into his bag and pulled out a spray bottle filled to the brim with a blue liquid. Without warning he began spraying her from top to bottom, he even the inside her mouth; the girl gagged and spat it out, but before she could say anything Aki shoved Inu-Yasha, Koga, and Shippo in front of her.

"Take a whiff guys. Can you smell anything?"

The boys of demon descent hesitantly sniffed her, but when they couldn't smell anything they became more thorough, getting very up close and personal before pulling back confused and turning to their guitarist for answers; he played with the little bottle looking very proud of himself.

"This is a formula of my own creation; it completely masks someone's scent so well that even those of demon blood can't pick up it."

After wiping off her tongue to get rid of the awful taste in her mouth she furrowed her eyebrow at him.

"What's the purpose of hiding my scent?"

He seemed surprised that she was asking him that.

"You of all people should know that there are still many demons in this world Kagome, all with supernatural senses of smell, if one of them got a whiff of you, your cover is blown and everyone will know the truth."

He placed the bottle in her hands and she cradled it against her chest.

"Alright then, let's get to rehearsing shall we _gentlemen_."

He emphasized the last word while looking at Kagome.

"Yeah sure."

She said in her normal voice and they froze.

"Whoa, what was that? You can't go around talking with that voice; no one would believe you're a guy."

It took her a while, but she managed to get a voice that satisfied them, it still sounded feminine, but they had to settle with crossing their finger and hoping she might be able to scrape by. When they got back to their studio, President Tohma was waiting for them; an extremely tall man with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and a sniper strung around his back stood by his side, making the president look even shorter than he already was. Mr. Tohma was a petite man who appeared way too young to be in his mid thirties, had platinum blonde hair and wore a very expensive business suit, but even dressed up he barely looked eighteen. They all bowed to each other except for the tall man who looked like he couldn't give a damn as he caressed the body of his gun, clearly he was American.

"Good day Mr. Tohma, what brings you here?"

Aki looked down upon the man who smiled a little too brightly to make it genuine.

"My employees came into my office and were making quite the fuss over your band, Aki."

Everyone held their breath as their anxiety hit the ceiling.

"Our band, sir?"

The small, but powerful man nodded in response, that same smile plastered on his face.

"Yes, they heard you playing and rushed to my office claiming there was an angel's voice in Bad Luck."

They all looked at Kagome who shuffled uncomfortably in her new outfit; she hated being put on the spotlight like this, she wasn't a guy for five minutes and already she had the president of Tohma Studios in their room and not only was he the man that could make or break her career, he was also a former member of her favorite band: Nittle Grasper; the little die-hard fan inside her head was currently having a heart attack. The man's eyes seemed to read hers too much and she could barely stand his gaze on hers, but Aki forced her front and center, she would have stepped on his foot in retaliation if she wasn't trying to make a good first impression.

"It's true. Sir, I'd like you to meet Kagome Higurashi: our new vocalist."

He bowed and she stood there in a frozen stupor for a moment until she remembered her basic manners and quickly bowed back.

"Nice to meet you Higurashi-san, I'm—"

"Tohma! Seguchi Tohma! The famous keyboardist from Nittle Grasper! You guys have always been my favorite band! I cried for weeks after you broke up three years ago."

She couldn't control her excitement any longer, the groupie in her won over her nervousness and better judgment, not even noticing that she spoke to him using her regular voice. The man was a little taken aback, but he chuckled none the less when he saw the stars dancing in her eyes as she clasped her hands together looking like she had just seen heaven.

"Is that so? I'm glad to meet one of my loyal fans."

Before they could go into further discussion, Aki butted in.

"Mr. Tohma, we would very much like Kagome to be part of our band, but there's one thing that only we can entrust you with that is extremely important."

A blonde eyebrow perked up; the guitarist bent down and whispered in her ear.

"Sorry."

She was about to ask what for, but quickly got her answer when he grabbed both ends of her shirt and lifted it up well over her shoulders to reveal the constricted chest and slim waist layered up in padding. Tohma momentarily lost his composure and blinked a couple of times in shock and to convince himself he wasn't seeing thing. Kagome growled and in a blur of unseen movement, she whipped around and punched her friend square in the nose and sent him crashing into the opposite wall.

"You could have told him, you dumbass!"

She screamed her face red from anger and embarrassment.

"I didn't think he would have believed us."

He replied weakly as he stood up with blood flowing out of his nose; she would have hit him again for the stupidity of his logic when the Nittle Grasper band mate laughed openly and turned to her with her contract and a pen held up for her to take.

"Nice hook. It would be an honor to add Miss. Higurashi to our label, provided she okay living with her ruse as a man."

She nodded and signed the papers the he had conveniently brought up with him, hardly bothering to read them any more than a quick scan, she didn't care was the restrictions or legal bindings were; he read them over before holding out his hand for her took shake; she took his hand with both of hers and shook it vigorously smiling like a little kid. Not a moment after the ink had dried the tall man behind Tohma coughed into his hand and looked down at the president, expecting to be introduced.

"Pardon my manners. Bad Luck, I'd like you to meet your manager: Mr. K; he was my manager and helped make my band famous. He's good at what he does so please respect him even though he won't give a damn about you."

That last line was said so innocently they collectively raised their eyebrows and looked at the man who surpassed them in height and intimidation. For the first time he looked at them with those cold blue eyes and rested the body of the gun against his shoulder; his expression screamed: just try and defy me you little bastards.

"Well, I don't want to be keeping you from your rehearsal."

With that, he waved good bye and walked out the door; the band watched him leave and warily looked back at the gun loving American who stayed behind. He waited until the door closed then cocked the automatic rifle and pointed it at them.

"Get. Working."

Were the first words he said to them and he didn't need to repeat himself as they all scampered back to their instruments; Kagome took the mic as the guys were quick to set themselves up. After a few hours of nonstop practice Mr. K finally left; the second they were sure he was out of earshot they collapsed, completely exhausted. During their practice, whenever someone wanted to take a break they found themselves staring down the barrel of a very scary looking gun and quickly they discovered the energy to continue on.

"Breaks are for failures and garage band kids who live off their parents' money and don't have the decency or intelligence to get a real job."

He said every time someone found the courage to ask if they could stop; of course with a gun pointed at them they would believe and listen to anything he said.

* * *

When Mr. K approached the end of the hall, Tohma was there, waiting for him; the keyboardist pushed his back off the wall in one smooth motion.

"So, what's your verdict?"

The American sneered.

"If your band really does come back together, you're gonna have a run for your money. That Kagome reminds me a lot of Sango."

The president smirked at his words and looked back at the closed door before walking away motioning for his ex-manager to follow.

"Sango had a lot of experience, that girl looks like she hasn't been up in front of an audience in years. Push her as far as you want Mr. K; let's see how much she can take before she breaks."

* * *

Kagome dropped her knees; when she was younger her father put her through similar training and she always did it, but never at _gunpoint_. Damn Americans with their damn guns. With four hours of practice left to kill and no furniture to sit on they all decided to call it a day and formed a loose circle in the middle of the room swapping their life stories in a nutshell.

Shippo Kemuri was orphaned when he was only five years old; his parents were murdered by a mob of humans who managed to get their hands of some rather nasty sutras. The gang was loyal to their leaders: the Thunder Brothers who were well know murderers, but less known demons; sentenced to death years ago with the help of Inu-Yasha's family, they were now just a distant memory that popped up once in a while in a nightmare. He was an orphaned demon child that a human-run government hated, so when no family stepped forward to claim him he was sent to an orphanage in an unpleasant part of the city, which, unfortunately for him, hated demons. Next to the orphanage was an underground rave, he grew up hearing its beats and rhythms and sounds; the music fascinated him to the point that he convinced the disk jockey of the place to teach him.

All the while, he had to disguise himself as a human; he covered up his pointed ears in multiple piercings and hats, wore a long black trench coat to hide his two tails, convinced everyone that he dyed his hair, and learned to fit in with the people of the area. One day, he forgot that he was "human" and showed off his demonic talents in front of the entire rave; they chased him down and beat him into unconsciousness. He knew he wasn't welcome there anymore and could go back, so he ran right into the heart of the city, to his last lifeline: Inu-Yasha where he eventually met Aki and joined the band.

Miroku Houshi was a priest before he joined the band, lived up in the mountains with many other monks in training; the head monks knew well of his lecherous ways and tried to curve his desires by teaching him something that would take up all his concentration. They taught him the piano. For ten years it seemed to work, he became a phenomenal pianist, better than they expected, but just as they saw hope for him they found a stack of pornographic magazines underneath his futon; with the last straw burned and gone they threw him out so fast he didn't even realize he had been evicted. He headed into Tokyo with a backpack filled with sheet music and porno, found a job at a run down bar playing jazz piano to drunks who were too swashed to notice, sold sutras and seals on the side, and even did an exorcism or two before he saw a flyer advertising for Aki's band. Seeing this as a sign from the heavens that his time of suffering was over, he left without a word and didn't even ask for his paycheck which was due the next week.

Inu-Yasha Takahashi came from a fine family; his father died when he was a baby from similar mobs that killed Shippo's parents and his mother died when he was a teen from sickness. He had two older half-siblings, a brother and sister. Since the sister was the oldest of the bunch she inherited everything their father left behind and even married Tohma which made him and the president brothers-in-law. In order to escape the grief of his mother's death and all the prejudice against him for being a half-demon he took up the drums. He found comfort in banging the hell out of the thing and actually went through many drum sets because he kept breaking them. He met Shippo when they were younger during the Thunder Brother's Case, but they never really got to know each other until a few years back. They kept each other company, both had mutual feelings towards the humans and demons the scorned them and found solace in the other's misery. So when Shippo joined Bad Luck, Inu-Yasha eventually did the same.

Koga Fukaimori came from a long line of wolf demons who had ruled the forests before they were all destroyed and replaced with cities and suburban neighborhoods; he was the second son of the leader of their pack and was always overshadowed by his older brother's accomplishments and perfections, in turn producing none of his own. Because of this, his family felt his existence was… unnecessary and was ordered by his clan's elders to commit seppuku (the honorable way of suicide) so he would no longer be a burden or hindrance to the pure blood of his family lineage. He of course didn't follow through with it and ran away into the countryside where there were only small, self-sustaining human villages.

In the calm of the slow-paced village life, surrounded by people who believed his presence was a blessing, he found he had an affinity for music and spent much of his time with the local musicians who taught him the guitar and eventually the bass, much to the surprise of his teachers. He took up the bass because of its role on in music: as a back up instrument, but still necessary for the full sound it gave. Koga wanted to prove to his family, especially his brother that he could be second, but still important.

They talked for hours on end; it was well into the afternoon when they decided to call it quits and head back to their apartment. That was the moment Kagome began feeling the uneasiness, not only was she going to have to pretend to be a guy, she had to live with five of them. The band had mixed emotions as well; Aki didn't really mind since he knew her; Shippo was used to living with people of all ages, gender, and species so he could probably get used to her in a matter of days; Miroku was more then happy to have her in the complex, now he had a reason to buy that water-proof camera for the shower; Inu-Yasha was little wary about having Kagome around, he hadn't lived with a woman since his sister moved out; Koga was like Shippo, he lived with a clan where there were no walls separating them, everyone, male and female alike, huddled close together for warmth and comfort.

She was very wary and attempted to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible when she stepped out of the studio; she kept her head down, hiding her face from the preying eyes of the people there. Some girls younger than her eyed her with too interested gazes that sent shivers down her spine. Contrary to his attitude before, Aki shoved her in front of him and did everything short of making a fool out of himself to attract attention to her. He waved to people he barely knew and yelled greetings to get everyone to turn their heads, wanting to ensure that everyone saw the way she was now and who she was with.

When they got to the parking lot, Inu-Yasha got on his motorcycle and Shippo climbed on behind him, Miroku climbed into his slightly battered used car, Koga, being a demon from the wild, preferred running opposed to using human transportation, Aki and Kagome climbed back into his car. They drove for about fifteen minutes before they reached a quieter part of the city; surrounded by homes, the apartment complex stuck out like a sore thumb. It was very unique Kagome soon found out when she stepped inside. The place was just one large, single room; kitchen, living room, bedrooms all rolled into one. There were five beds along the sides of the walls with different possessions sprawled out everywhere, clothes, CDs, video games, DVDs, sheet music, books, and a porno magazine here and there.

The people who designed the building believed that everything should be shared, that they could take complete strangers, stick in them in a room together, and _poof_ they've got themselves a new family; the place didn't hit off as well as they founders expected and they had to sell it. Since it was cheap, had everything the band needed, and they were all guys it didn't bother them; the only minor issue was when they brought ladies home, the lack of privacy encouraged the large closet be turned into a small guest bedroom. They didn't expect in all their wildest dreams that they would get a girl as their new roommate, Kagome looked around for her place to crash, but found none and turned to the band helping her carry in her belongings.

"Uh, where am I supposed to sleep?"

Aki motioned for her to follow him across the room to the closet turned guest room; they opened the door and turned on the single dying lamp; it was a little dusty, but looked comfortable enough. There was a soft futon in the corner, a plain wooden dresser with a large mirror above it and no more; one by one the guys came and went into her new room and dropped off the boxes before leaving and giving her some much needed privacy. Aki was the last one to leave; he turned back and gave her a look of concern.

"Kagome, are you okay with this? We kinda dropped a pretty big bombshell on you in just one day."

She smiled at his worry for her and waved her hand to be done with the matter.

"I'll be fine. I just need a little time to adjust."

He nodded his head and left her alone to set up her room however she wished; when he closed the door her false smile vanished and she looked back at the stark room, sighed and tried not to let her despair completely overtake her. She had to stay positive. She had a job, a place to stay, and surrounded by people who seemed to care about her, all the things that she almost didn't have the night before, but she was going to live in a lie. Could she live as a guy? She quickly shook her head to clear it of such thoughts, looked down at her belongings and began unpacking; she stared longingly at the boxes of clothes she could no longer wear, put them in the corner and threw a blanket over them to resist temptation.

"I guess I'll just have to play it by ear."

* * *

Kagome had been living with her band for two months now and learned quickly; for the first month there, the guys had to help dress her, she wasn't used to the complicated strategy of the bindings and padding. They guys donated whatever clothes they didn't wear to her cause and helped teach her how to be manly. Out of everyone, Shippo became the most attached to her; he never had someone step-up and care for him since his mother whom he barely remembered. As time progressed, she became more of a motherly figure than a friend or sister. Inu-Yasha and Koga both had mutual feelings towards her: she was a good person with a big heart and very accepting of those around her, especially those of the demon persuasion.

Miroku had taken the brunt of her anger many times for his constant grabbing and peeking; she was more upset than any other girl he had ever encountered when it came to perversion, from her background she was taught to never tolerate it and during her solo mission she was surrounded by it, leaving a very short fuse in its wake. So for the most part he stopped. Aki felt the same about her as always: she was his closest friend, the girl he grew up with and being under the same roof with her brought back the feelings of their past.

In return for all they gave her, Kagome provided the womanly touch the apartment was desperately lacking; showed them that cramming garbage under the rugs won't make it disappear, that the broom and mop were for cleaning, not kendo practice, and just because the shirt can be turned inside out and worn, doesn't make it clean. After a thorough cleaning which she had insisted upon the first morning she was there, they discovered the long lost carpet that the boys thought had been stolen.

While the guys had been exposed to or lived with other women long enough to experience their cycles, with Kagome they quickly found out that seven days out of every month they should leave her the hell alone. She warned that the women in her family had a history of ill will during their times of the month, but they didn't take into account the extent of how ill her will would go. Most of the time she paced like an animal in the apartment, swearing under her breath about one thing or another; she would scream about the noise and yell at the quiet.

The miko would pick a fight just for the sake of fighting with the hope that letting out a little steam would better her mood. She would writhe and cry in her bed because of the pain of her cramps, the band tried to offer her comfort, but every time someone came within range she would throw a hard object or her fist, so instead they chose to offer her hot pads and chocolate. Bad Luck learned to arm themselves with candy, helmets, and pillows. Hell truly hath no fury like a woman having her period.

* * *

It was well into the night when Mr. K finally allowed the band to end rehearsal and let them drag their tired feet home; as hard as their manager tried to make life for Kagome, she refused to let him beat her and she improved as a musician because of it; "break me if you can" her glare silently told him every time they saw each other. While the guys tried to persuade her into riding back home with one of them, she declined feeling that tonight was a great night for a walk; the moon was out and so were many of the stars, not to mention she wanted a little breathing room from her band. The inspiration she had at the beginning was becoming suffocated by the subtle pressures and reminders by the mere presence of Bad Luck; one song in particular gave her the impression of hitting an all-time low, the lyrics were half-written and even what she had sounded forced and lifeless.

She felt that the fresh air would help clear all the excess thoughts in her head and get refocused; as everyone left, she walked down the sidewalks cluttered with people, filled with their chatter and deafened by the noises of the roads. The miko walked to a specific short-cut through a wide cobblestone road illuminated by streetlights, it was empty, quiet and right behind a park, the density of trees and bushes muffled the city sounds and gave the illusion of walking through a forest. _'The boys would sure love this place. Once I'm out of this rut, I'll bring 'em here.' _She moved her hand holding the paper up to her face so she could read over her lyrics again, but right as she did a gust of wind blew it out of her hand.

"Ah! Wait paper! Come back!"

She chased after it down the street, around a bend and watched it as it flew passed the figure of a man standing just outside the rim of light from a streetlight; she saw a hand shoot out and catch it with inhuman speed. She froze, her senses going haywire, heart pounding with adrenaline, time seemed to slow down as she saw the silhouette calmly walk into the light; she was alert and tense until she saw his face. Air escaped her lungs as her eyes registered him; she had never seen someone so amazing before. Long silver hair cascaded down to his waist, slit and golden eyes pieced mercilessly into hers, magenta stripes caressed his cheeks and wrists, and an indigo crescent moon appeared through the bangs on his forehead. He wore a black business suit over a tall and fit figure and a lit cigarette protruded from his mouth; power clung to him as casually as clothes. He read over the lyrics once before his eyes shot up to bore themselves into hers; her heart skipped a beat, his gaze made the blood in her veins run cold.

"Is this your writing?"

He said cruelly, his voice deep and resonating in her very being; she was too stunned to speak so he took her silence as a yes and looked back down at the lyrics. Even by the obvious sound of distaste, the rumble in his words made her knees feel weak and her entire body very warm.

"This is worse than a child's; you shouldn't write love songs with your lack of skill."

She wanted to believe that he was walking up to her, but his demeanor showed that he was going to continue on and she was only a pause in his course; he stood beside her, looking on in the distance as if she didn't deserve his gaze. He took a long drag from his cigarette and let the smoke escape from his mouth before speaking.

"You have zero talent. Give it up."

With that said he let the paper go and the wind took it away; that last declaration snapped her out of her daze as she turned around. Give up? Kagome didn't give up! She opened her mouth to snap a retort only to see him round the corner and disappear.

"Hey!"

She cried and chased after him. She had had it! She was done with being told off and pushed around like a rag doll, first her band, then her manager, now this guy, well _no more_! He was going to pay for what he said to her; she was going to make him suffer; the hunt was on as she took off in a sprint, confident in her ability to catch him, but when she rounded the same corner he did, he was gone. She knew he was a demon so she had to be fast in order to catch up to him and there was only one path so she knew she was heading in the right direction. She ran until she came to a road just as she saw a black foreign car begin to drive away with the first three digits of the license plate: G86.

Kagome growled low in her throat and kicked a nearby tree in frustration; she was so close she could have yanked him out of his car and beat an apology into him if only she had started running a few seconds earlier. _'That demon! What a mouth! What an attitude! What a sexy voice…Gah! Kagome don't you __dare__ start that again!' _She refused to acknowledge the other sensations besides anger which accompanied his image popping into her head. Stalking back home, she burst through the door, her face red from running and the rage that seethed through her. Her band mates jumped at the sound of her arrival and the look on her face sent chills running up and down their spines; Aki leaned over to the other men; his movements deliberately slow so he wouldn't attract any attention to himself.

"Battle stations guys; I think Kagome just started again."

They nodded in acknowledgement and slowly slipped under their covers, when they came back out again they were all wearing helmets on their heads and pillows on their chests with candy ready to offer if she came close, trying to make themselves as small as possible so they wouldn't attract her notice. Kagome growled at them and slammed the door.

"Take that crap off you assholes. I don't start for another week."

It felt a little weird saying that to guys, but she was already annoyed beyond the point of caring about modesty and having them treat her like they do during her cycle would send her over the edge. They quickly peeled away their protection, hoping that would please her; it was enough to have her storm past them without any further argument as she plopped herself on the old couch, took the remote, and turned on the TV. As she watched a show she hardly cared for the band could see her digging her nails into the pillows and a scowl appear on her face. Shippo was the band member who suffered the least of her wrath so he volunteered himself to wander into enemy territory; he put down his book, cautiously walked up to her and sat down on the couch next to her.

"What's wrong Kagome-sama?"

He asked in his best adorable voice; she turned to him and the anger visibly faded as she switched off the TV and turned her body over to face him and the band.

"You wanna hear a stupid story?"

They all nodded their heads; she sighed, running her fingers through her shortened hair and bit her lower lip in agitation before reciting the night's earlier events to her attentive audience.

"I'll get him back, that arrogant bastard."

They would have been wary of what she said when if it wasn't said in the tone she used; her voice was strangely spoke almost with affection; when she was done she stared distantly into the ceiling, her expression not of anger, but of wonder, which made them ponder: did she really hate him?

* * *

It had been eight days since the mysterious demon had degraded her, but he was still plaguing her mind; the encounter had changed her. She grew distant, was unfocused during practice; start with one song, but change her mind in the middle of the set and request to do another. The singer's mental disarray exhausted her, she grew tired more easily and, at the end of the eighth day, Mr. K was only a practice away from breaking her. She couldn't get him out of her head, the sound of his voice, the cruelty of his words, the sharpness of his gaze; they enthralled her long after they parted ways.

"Kagome! Snap out of it already!"

Inu-Yasha yelled after reaching his breaking point with her, slammed his hand on the table they were all sitting around, causing her to jump and look up at him. He bent down so their faces were inches apart; his golden eyes bored into hers. Those eyes… she had seen them before, that same gaze she could loose herself in, but, before she could delve deeper into the subject, his screaming brought her back.

"You're never going to see that guy again and even if you did what are the chances that he remembers you? He's probably forgotten all about so you should just wise up and forget about him!"

That was the first time any of the band members actually yelled at her; instead of standing up for her, the band, without words or actions, stood behind Inu-Yasha, but all were too ashamed to look her in the face.

"Is that how all of you feel?"

She asked in a hurt voice; her eyes went from band mate to band mate and none of them could bring themselves to lift their gazes from the floor, but she got her answer all the same. She hung her head, hiding her eyes behind her bangs in humiliation.

"I see."

Without warning she rose to her feet and ran out, past Mr. K and other employees, down the escalator to her salvation: outside. It was raining that day, but she didn't care, she ran until her feet refused to run another step and she slowed down to a walk, wandering through the crowded streets as a soaking brunette in a sea of colorful umbrellas. Her clothes clung to her skin and she was thankful that she was wearing a loose long sleeve shirt with a vest over it to keep her gender concealed, but she was sure that the "perfume" Aki gave her had been washed away by the rain. Again, she didn't care and at the moment she was glad it was raining so no one would notice her crying; warm tears mixed with the cool rain, battling for space on her cheeks. _'Those assholes…' _She thought to herself as she tilted her head up to the stormy sky, _'I will see him again… I will.' _Not caring that she sounded pathetic, not understanding why she wanted to see him so much, and not sure how much of an excuse her plot for revenge was to cling to his image. His eyes seemed so cold, but there was so much to them, she wanted to see them again. _'He was…so cool looking…'_

"Is that a foreign car?"

"You don't see many of those around here."

"It's all black. Look even the windows are tinted."

"Wonder if there's somebody important inside?"

Kagome looked over at a group of girls gossiping loudly over the noise of the city not five feet away from her; they pointed and gushed openly at a foreign car that was waiting at a stoplight; her gaze went from the girls to the car. Her eyes widened and her heart almost leapt out of her chest; that was the car! She could clearly see the G86 on the license plate, 'never see him again' keh! How could she have ever doubted herself, ever wavered? The light turned green, the car started moving and she panicked, if she didn't do something now she might never be able to see him again and exact her revenge. Without any form of logic thought, Kagome jumped over the railing that separated the sidewalk and the road, ran right into the middle of the street, turned and faced the car and threw her arms out wide like an offering.

"STOP!"

She screamed at the top her lungs, the driver hit the breaks and the tires screeched loudly in protest; people screamed and cried thinking that she was going to be run over, but the only thing she was hit with was water the car's wheels kicked up. As she watched the car nearly skidded off the slippery road the thought that this was a bad idea crossed her mind, but the gods determined that today was not her day to die and the vehicle finally stopped a few yards away from her. A moment passed before the door opened and he stepped out: the demon she had met in the park. Those eyes she had been longing to see met hers and her heart seemed to stop before it pounded wildly in her chest; as he walked up to her she quickly came to her senses, reached into her pocket and drenched herself in Aki's spray. She looked back up and he was so close to her that if either took another step their bodies would be touching; he opened his mouth to say something when the screams and squeals of many girls in the crowd filled their ears.

"Oh my God! It's Sesshomaru Takahashi! The famous romance novelist!"

"Did you just say _Sesshomaru_?!"

"No way!"

"I love your books, Mr. Takahashi!"

She froze, _'Romance novelist?' _her gaze went back up to his face, he wasn't looking at her, but at all the girls and even a few guys who were coming after him from all sides.

"Damn it."

He muttered under his breath, turned around and briskly walked back to his car, but when climbed back in something was amiss; as he glanced over to his right he saw Kagome sitting in the passenger's seat of his car, she already locked the door with the seat belt was strapped across her chest. She up the inside of the car in awe, felt the leather interior and played around with all the little buttons; this was her first time being in a foreign car, much less a luxury one.

"What the hell? How did you get here so fast?"

He sounded more annoyed than surprised and she smirked.

"I ran inside while you were staring at your fans. So you're a novelist; is that why you degraded my lyrics?"

He raised an eyebrow, having no idea what the brat was talking about, couldn't recall ever seeing a human like him before; he had the features of a girl and upon attempting to take in the pretty boy's scent he got nothing. Perhaps it was a ploy, a game of one of his more psychotic and mentally unstable fans, all the more reason to kick out this boy even sooner.

"Whatever, just get out of my car."

She dropped her jaw in shock.

"Are you kidding? You nearly run over me and you expect me to get out? No way."

"Get. Out."

His eyes narrowed and his voice deepened, but she merely folded her arms and sat back in the seat like a stubborn grade-school child; the demon was about to reach over and shove Kagome out when his car was suddenly impaled by fans trying to break his windows and steal a picture of him, a piece of his clothing, or him. With no options left he hit the gas pedal and drove away with the strange human in his car. Unfortunately, his presence brought a lot of unwanted attention as he looked through the rear view mirror and saw cars jam packed with paparazzi chasing after him with their cameras already taking pictures, shouting different headlines to their employers via phone.

"Persistent bastards."

He muttered and then looked down at the soaking wet miko next to him; he unlocked the car and opened the passenger door just as he merged into a busy freeway.

"Get out."

He repeated to her and she looked first at the asphalt that sped beneath her feet and then at him like he grew a second head.

"Are you fucking nuts? I'm not leaving until you apologize to me!"

He was surprised when she claimed he was nuts for not apologizing instead of his threat of first degree murder. And this brat thought that _he_ was nuts. Kagome turned her back on him and reached out to close the door, not a moment later she felt a foot impaling her in the back, trying to shove her out of the car. She clung to the door for dear life and thanked her mother for drilling car safety into her brain; the novelist gave her a strange look, the guy screamed like a little girl, but swore like sailor.

"AH! Are you trying to fucking kill me?! Shit! You really are a demon!"

He continued to try to force her out onto the road when he saw the cameras behind them go off like crazy and with his heightened sense of hearing he caught their titles.

"Sesshomaru: Murderer and Demon!"

"Novelist Gone Nuts!"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the screaming human by the collar of his shirt, pulled him back into the car and closed the door, immediately he heard a change in the photographers' attitude.

"Sesshomaru: Hero in Disguise!"

"Writer and Savior!"

He smirked. _'At least I'm the good guy again.' _He thought to himself, but his mood instantly changed when his gaze rested upon her; the miko was close to hyperventilation as she dragged air in and out of her lungs, eyes wide and nails digging into the leather seat, but she was still alive and she had to settle with that for now. The paparazzi followed them all the way to the gate of his home, but couldn't go any further; his car went through the gate and when the crazed photographers tried to follow he rolled down his window and stuck his hand out. Green whips of acid grew from his index and middle claws and struck out at the tires of the cars; the rubber bubbled and fizzed into a sticky liquid, glued tight to the asphalt and halted the armada. A smirk grew again at the cries of protest and drove through the thick forest-like grounds surrounding the mansion; the density made it highly unlikely that they would be able to take anymore pictures.

His claws had itched to melt the heads off the humans' shoulders instead of their tires, but surrendering their lives meant surrendering his own. The balance of power between demons and humans constantly shifted, in this new age there were constant wars between the species; demons were still roaming free, but their numbers were few. Only the strong had survived the many genocides. What the humans lacked in power they made up for in sheer numbers, not to mention they had the most advanced technology for destruction at their fingertips, this deadly combination prevented the opportunity for demons to ever seize control again. Other than a low count, demon had one other fatal flaw: they held onto the old. The sword, the arrow, and the spear had been replaced with guns, Kevlar armor and machinery; the armor of the ancient times could not protect its wearer against a barrage of bullets from a semi-automatic, not even their rapid healing was rapid enough anymore.

Sesshomaru was one of the few descendants of pureblood demons; being only twenty-five, he was still considered a fledgling in the eyes of the elder demons, not that he gave a damn, but too many youkai had given up trying to find a mate in another youkai and found one in a ningen, a simple human. In a single blood exchange a human could gain the longevity of the demon he or she is with; Sesshomaru's father was lucky when he found a pureblood demoness and bore him a daughter and then a son before she passed on, but then quickly moved on to Izayoi, the mortal princess whom he chose to share his life and the length of his years with. Disgusting.

As they drove through the forest-like grounds, the house came into her sight and her jaw dropped. It was a perfect mixture between the olden times and the new, a traditional Japanese mansion with all the perks of the 21st century as Kagome gazed at the exterior of his home she felt she had been whisked back in time, but upon entering, the latest in everything necessary for a home, and many things that weren't, found a place in his house. A fluffy white towel impaling her face snapped her out of her daydream, when she pulled it away her eyes met his.

"Dry yourself off. You're dripping all over the floor."

With that said, he disappeared into another room and she did as she was told; this was one of the few times she was grateful to have short hair, even messy and wet it still looked good and it was much easier to dry. She slipped off her soaking wet shoes before she dared actually enter the front room and after using three more towels was she convinced that she could sit on the leather couch with a high-end flat screen facing it. Not a moment after she sat down, he returned with an open can of beer in one hand and an unopened one in the other.

He had changed clothes, no longer in a business suit, but a simple silk shirt the top four buttons he left open to reveal a finely toned chest and black jeans. She almost couldn't contain the blush that tried to spread across her face; the singer had lived with her band for some time now and saw them in nothing but boxers and even accidentally saw a few naked, but other than severe embarrassment she was never really affected by it. She was thankful she was sitting down; her legs would have probably collapsed on her with a stomach full of knots. He threw the drink to her and she caught it with ease, at least her reflexes were still intact; her gaze went from the alcohol to him.

"I take it you're old enough to drink."

Even though the legal drinking age in Japan was twenty, her next birthday was in seven months; besides she had had more than her fair share of drinks with the band on the weekends. She muttered a 'thank you' before opening the can and taking a long swing, needing something to douse the fire that dared try to turn her face a beet red. He watched her like a predator, his eyes never leaving her, studying her up and down, and only turning away so he could light himself another cigarette.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi. What's yours?"

She said after a few minutes of silence and a consumed can of beer; he looked at her from the corner of his eye and frowned.

"Huh?"

She smirked.

"Your name. You have one right or was your mother too busy to give you one?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously, but said nothing; oblivious to the malice being sent in her direction she tried to spark up another conversation.

"You still owe me an apology by the way."

That rewarded her a quirked eyebrow in her direction.

"For what? Trying to get you out of my car?"

She shook her head vigorously, slammed her drink on the table, and stood up; he could sense more that see her anger rising.

"No! For what you said to me in the park eight days ago!"

He put down his drink as well, leaned against the wall, and folded his arms across his chest.

"Now what are you going on about?"

Her jaw dropped in complete shock, without thinking she grabbed her empty can and chucked it at his head which he caught in one smooth motion of his arm and crushed it in his hand like a wad of tissue paper.

"You forgot?!"

She cried and clenched her hands until her knuckles turned white; this little human was beginning to piss him off as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"About what? I don't ever remember meeting you."

Now it was an ash tray that was hurdled in his direction, he caught it without a scratch on it and set it down on the table beside him, more than tempted to pitch it back.

"Eight days ago jackass! Late at night in the park, I lost my lyrics; you found them and said it was worse than a child's! You owe me a goddamn apology!"

He blinked once, his memory clicking back into place, properly placing the loud-mouth in his long-term memory recall and pushed himself off of the wall.

"Figures. Did my comment affect you that much?"

She froze for a moment.

"So you _do_ remember!"

He made no form of response, but his words effectively sunk in; she wasn't sure if she should be even angrier or happy that he remembered.

"Why did you say you didn't remember from before?"

He rolled his eyes at her obliviousness.

"I repressed you, stupid, but not your shit for a song. How can I forget such crappy writing?"

She growled low in her throat, but let it go.

"Do you have a problem with me?"

She mused and he momentarily snapped.

"Of course I do! You could have put a dent in my car!"

She paid no mind to his outburst as she took it upon herself to look around the room and, without asking, she walked down the nearest hall and began exploring the rest of the mansion. He followed her into a guest room that was right across from his study where all of his novels were written on a clean, up-to-date laptop. He saw her still for a moment at the scene change, the guest room looked like a normal bedroom, there was a four-poster bed, a dresser complete with mirror, and even a nightstand with a lamp for reading and a digital clock; a window on the wall opposite to the door that had a perfect view of the gardens outside. She circled the room before plopping herself on the bed and sinking into the soft mattress.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He asked and she jumped to her feet and turned around to find him standing in the doorway, didn't even realize that he was following her. She took a deep breath and tore her gaze away from those dangerous eyes to look around at the room again.

"I'm trying to get a feel for this place, learn where everything is."

His eyebrow couldn't help but disappear in his bangs.

"And you are doing this because…"

"I'm staying of course."

He was visibly taken aback and blinked a couple of times as she nodded her head as if he needed a visual confirmation to get the message through to his head.

"Yep. I'm not leaving until you apologize to me."

This statement made him smirk; his aura grew tainted with an air of male smugness as he folded his arms and leaned on the doorway with his shoulder, making sure that his sneer was big enough so she could see his fangs.

"First off, you're not staying and second, I'm never apologizing."

Now it was her turn to smirk; she sat up on the bed and crossed her legs.

"Did you already forget your little escapade in the car when you tried to shove me out? There are probably hundreds of pictures of that special moment and dozens of magazines who would die for a scandal on you. If you kick me out alls I have to do is go to the most popular one and tell them how you tried to get rid of me. You'll be arrested and your life will over; they could execute you since people don't want such a dangerous demon running freely. Face it, I hold your career and maybe even your life in the palm of my hand."

He narrowed his eyes at her. Oh, how badly did he want to tear a neat row of gashes across this brat's neck, but he restrained himself; he didn't want another human death on his hands especially with the higher powers of government just itching for an excuse to take down another pureblood demon.

"I'm not apologizing."

He repeated and her smirk grew; she calmly stretched herself out and lay back down on the bed looking up at the ceiling; Kagome didn't know why she felt so giddy when he said that, she didn't care. She tried not to let her female smugness show, even in the eyes of this demon she had to be a guy, pretty boy, whatever, she just couldn't be a girl, but that didn't mean she couldn't wreak her promised feminine wrath on him, she just had to very careful. Still feeling his eyes upon her as she smiled, her lips parted and sang out sweetly

"Then I guess I'm not leaving."

* * *

**Okay first chapter is over! I have rewritten this first chapter since I realized my past writing is not up to par with my present; it's the same quality as my later chapters, but is much better than its original. I'm already at work updating my other earlier chapters.**

**For all those who have read or seen Gravitation I have provided a list of character switches.**

**Kagome Higurashi-Shuichi Shindou**

**Sesshomaru Takahashi-Yuki Eiri**

**Aki-Hiro Nakano **

**Sango-Sakuma Ryuichi**

**Kikyo-Shuichi's older sister**

**Inu-Yasha's older sister-Mika Tohma **

**Everyone else is either an original character from Gravitation or Inu-Yasha.**

**Song's in the story (changed them too): "Sleepless Beauty" by Nittle Grasper and "First Time" by Lifehouse **

**Please review, I know it sounds boring, but I would like a little feedback from my readers.**

**Thank you for reading! **

**-Love's Essence**


	2. Life With Him

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Inu-Yasha characters! This story is partially based on the anime series Gravitation!**

**Gravitation**

Chapter 2: Life With Him

It was late at night when Kagome decided to turn in; Sesshomaru, for the most part, had left her alone. He holed himself up in his study across from her room and was typing away furiously on his state-of-the-art laptop. She poked her head out of her new room and saw his door was slightly ajar, allowing the light to escape. She could see him adorning his frameless glasses, his eyes and all of his attention focused on the screen. The miko raised an eyebrow at his glasses, _'Dude, it's the 21st century; get yourself some goddamn contacts!' _but she had to admit the glasses made him seem that much more mature and civilized; not to mention sexy.

She didn't want to, but seeing that she had no choice, she knew she had to take a shower. The young priestess smelled like wet asphalt and her hair was gross from the day's abuse, plus she had to look presentable to the band when she went back the next day. No doubt they were pulling their hair out trying to find her since she ran out so suddenly and hadn't returned to the apartment. Her cell phone had been going off like crazy and she wasn't in the mood for talking to them; she was forced to turn it off to save what was left of the battery. Her eyes stayed on him the whole time as she quietly snuck out of her room with two white fluffy towels in hand, hoping to get by unseen. She barely took two steps away from the door when his voice rang out.

"And just where do you think you're going? Off to find more items to throw at me?"

There was no denying it; before the sun had even set she had thrown a clock, lamp, dictionary, plate, vase, remote, DVD player, DVDs, a pillow, bar of soap, and even the neighbor's cat who had unfortunately walked in through the open door. She never seemed to run out of ammunition or energy and when she wasn't throwing something she was yelling at him for God knows what little thing. If he didn't know better he'd say it was Kagome's time of the month. She froze in place and slowly craned her head around to find him standing over her, arms folded with an annoyed look on his face. She straightened up and met his gaze; he made her feel so short even though she was 5' 9". He completely dominated her with his 6' 6" height.

"I'm going to the shower smartass. I've thrown enough things at you for one day; my arms are sore."

He had many comebacks for her remark, but chose to not say them for he already had a growing headache and didn't need her screaming to add onto it.

"Three doors down the hall to your left."

He said rubbing his aching temples as he turned around to walk back to his office. She waited until she heard the typing keys before she left. Kagome quickly ran in and locked the door. Once in the safety of the bathroom she pulled out Aki's perfume which she had hidden inside her towels. She stared at the bottle before sighing; she was probably going to have to ask him to make her a lot more. She turned on the shower and stripped down; as soon as the hot water met her sore skin, her body completely relaxed. The water a like a hot caress, mapping her entire body and leaving no bit of flesh untouched. The shower was just what she needed at the moment; it gave her a chance to relax and at the same time think.

Sesshomaru thought she was an idiot, but in fact she was a scheming genius. She had everything planned out for her move in to his mansion; of course there was going to be a lot of screaming and disagreements between her and the guys, but this was just something she had to do. She didn't understand why she took a liking to this demon so much, maybe it was because she saw the secrets in his eyes that was hidden by a wall of cruelty; she was a very curious person after all. She made sure to wash her hair twice to get every speck of dirt out of it; after she had washed away the grime, she leaned back against the stone wall, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be enveloped in the hot water of the shower.

Nearly an hour later she stepped out of the bathroom and a cloud of steam followed her. As she walked down the hall towel drying her hair, the faint sound of typing caught her ears, after all that time he had not even gotten up from his chair. She paused when the light from the open door spilled across her form; she stared at him, but he did not seem to notice her. She had the urge to walk into the room, but she resisted, she was tired and needed sleep because she was going to have one hell of a headache when she walked into the studio tomorrow.

She walked into her room and laid the wet towels over the open window to dry and set her masking perfume on the night stand. She intended to walk over to the bed to sleep, but subconsciously her feet took out of her room and back into the light in the hallway. Before she even realized what had happened, she was already at his door; she paused, waiting to see if he had noticed her, but he didn't. She sighed and looked down at her feet. _'Why do you do this to me?' _She asked them and twiddled her toes; her eyes went back to the demon before her. _'I guess it wouldn't hurt if I stay for a few minutes.' _

She took a couple steps away from the door, but remained in the light as she sat down in the middle of the hallway. Her eyes never wavered from his form; they studied him, analyzed him, but at the same time looked upon him with a kind of awe. She was mesmerized by his eyes, deep pools of molten gold that seemed to turn her body into a puddle of goo even though they were not looking at her; those eyes were glued to his screen, never once did he look down at the keyboard. Skilled hands danced across the keyboard with grace and perfection; the talons on his hands made him seem all the more lethal and all the more alluring and daring. With her spiritual abilities she could feel his demonic aura and the miko side of her quickly retreated, curling up into a ball in the corner, trying to make itself as small as possible. His aura was powerful and dangerous yet, it was calm and enticing, making a curious person like her want to study it further.

The miko side of her screamed 'run, this sort of thing if forbidden, get out of there while you can', but the human side of her countered with 'stay, follow your desires and to hell with spiritual law'. She sighed, for as long as she could remember, her father always told her that she and Kikyo were not allowed to fall in love or be married. They were priestesses, not women. Their power must be used to help those in need, not for a single man whom they desired. This angered and enraged her, but she had followed behind her father's words because he had never led her astray before and her relationship with Aki was more out of spite because of the law than anything else. But, just because she could not fall in love didn't mean she couldn't enjoy this moment for a little while longer.

A half an hour passed and Kagome stifled a yawn; it was time she seriously went to bed. She stood up and walked to the doorway of his office and placed a small hand on the wood frame. Even after all that time he still didn't notice her, but she didn't mind because if she was caught she would have no excuse for what she was doing. She spun around so her back rested against the wall, her hand never let go of the doorway. A soft smile formed on her lips as she looked at the door next to her.

"Good night."

She whispered and walked off into her room. She quietly shut the door behind her, set the clock to wake her up a seven, climbed into bed, and shut her eyes. She sighed as her small form sank into the soft mattress and within moments she was asleep.

* * *

Sesshomaru stopped typing when he heard those words; they confused him. His stomach unexpectedly did a little flip-flop, but he passed it off as nausea for being around a human. He thought her words to be annoying and tried to put them out of his mind and focus on his work, but saw that he couldn't when he found that he had randomly typed 'Good night' three times in one paragraph. Frustrated he stood up to get himself another cigarette, his mind wandered for less than ten seconds and when he came to, he found himself inside the guest room where his unwanted "roommate" was sleeping soundly. He looked down at his feet angrily, _'Damn legs, can't trust anything anymore.' _He turned to leave when a soft voice called out.

"Don't go."

He stopped and turned around thinking she was talking to him, but found she was still asleep as she tossed and turned in the bed. _'Great a sleep-talker just what I need.' _With a sigh of annoyance he gave her one last look, not knowing why, and left closing the door behind him. A large part of him said 'get the hell out of there, he's a human', but there was a tiny part of him that cried 'stay, even though he is a human, you are alone so nobody would know'. He growled low in his throat and beat that tiny part of him into submission. He was one of the last pureblood demons, there was no way he would soil himself with another human again. Doing so would disgrace his parent's lineage and good name, but that voice, it was… enchanting and seemed to take his pain away. He could feel himself already get too deep and he quickly walked back to his office.

* * *

At seven in the morning Kagome's alarm clock went off. A messy mop of black hair slowly emerged from the warmth of the blankets and a hand snaked out and slammed itself against that clock ceasing its assault on her ears. She groaned as she slowly sat up and scratched the top of her head. She winced and a hand clutched her lower abdomen.

"Dammit."

She swore under her breath; of all days for her period to start, it had to be today. She was going through enough hell, she didn't need this too. Her pain was like a roller coaster ride, reaching its peak until she felt like screaming and then dropping down to almost nothing, only to come back just as painful as before. Like a line of dominoes, one after another, the affects of her period hit her. The headache, nausea, mood swings, and exhaustion; before she even got out of bed all of them slapped her in the face and said: 'Ha! What now bitch?' The first three days were always the worst; the only thing she wanted to do at the moment was take two little pills and leave a sign on her door that said: 'Enter at your own risk.', but she knew she couldn't. If she didn't go to the studio today the band would most likely hire all of Tokyo's police force to hunt her down.

By some miracle she was able to dress herself and plastered a fake smile on her face as she walked out of the room. The mouth watering scent of miso soup, steamed rice, fried eggs, and fresh tea caught her nose and was able to take her mind away from her pains to realize that she had not eaten since lunch yesterday which was over twenty hours ago. She followed the tantalizing scent all the way to the kitchen to find her demon host was already seated with his breakfast. She stared at the food in awe; she had not seen a home cooked meal since she moved out of her house. The familiar scents brought her mind wandering back to the life with her family that she abandoned; a mother who always supported and loved her, an older sister that acted more like a best friend and mentor when it came to her social life, a younger brother that always found a way to get on her nerves, yet was so innocent, a grandfather with too many stories, and of course, a father to protect and guide her.

Without so much as asking she took what was left from the stove and piled it onto her plate; he looked up at her through the corner of his eye. She didn't see his gaze following her every move as she sat down and began to dig in. From the first bite she felt as if she had been whisked back into her old kitchen; images of her mom with a pink apron standing in a warm kitchen, Kikyo sitting at the kitchen table eating while reading old sutras and seals their father had given her, Souta running down the stairs after waking up late like he always does, her grandfather sipping hot tea while reading over the newspaper, trying to keep up with the times that had passed by too quickly for his liking, and her father, stern and harsh, but at the same time kind and understanding as he sat beside her with a kind smile on his face as her mother handed him his breakfast.

"Hey brat, are you going to eat that or make love to it?"

Suddenly reality came crashing back to her; the world of her memories shattered. She opened her eyes and found herself being stared down by Tokyo's most terrifying demon. She blushed slightly and hid her eyes from his view; she finished her meal grumbling about how his words had spoiled such a great breakfast. When she was done she looked up at him through her long bangs.

"Hey, can you give me a ride to Tohma Studios?"

The demon looked up from his newspaper only for a second and then looked back down at the text.

"Nope."

He said simply and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"But if I walk, by the time I get there practice will be over!"

She whined.

"Then I suggest you run."

He replied without even looking up at her. She huffed as she picked up her dishes and took them over to the sink to wash them off. She scrubbed the dirtied china so hard that some of the ceramic was chipping off, but she could have cared less, oh did that demon know how to piss her off. She looked down at her hands and saw the familiar blue flames licking at them. Kagome knew she had to calm down, but she didn't want to; she wanted to stay angry so she could burn that demon with her purification. Oh how she wanted to see him tremble with fear, withering in pain, on the bed naked… wait… what?! _'Gah! Stop it already! Stupid perverted thoughts, when I see Miroku I'm gonna beat his ass!' _As her face slowly turned red, her demon roommate could only stare in confusion and amusement. _'What the hell have I gotten myself into?' _His eyes followed her as she left the kitchen and rounded a corner back down the hall.

She walked in silence, her anger and full stomach made her forget about her monthly pains, but how was she going to get to work? As she neared her room, her gaze fell upon his office, the door was open and her curiosity got the better of her. She looked down the hallway to make sure he wasn't watching and silently slipped in. The room was about the size of hers. Along the walls to her left and right were book shelves filled to the brim with novels; a small leather blue couch in the right corner and to her left was a desk complete with laptop, printer, and a very comfortable chair. She couldn't resist temptation as she strode over to the desk and sat down. She spun around in the roller chair acting very much like the little kid she was inside.

She stopped when her head rested against the chair and she caught a strong whiff of his scent; power, turmoil, demon, domination, that is what the miko side of her smelt, but the woman side of her smelt something alluring, sexy, and very male. That scent awakened something inside her that never knew she had and she grew fearful of it; it beckoned her, pulled her towards a place she believed she could never leave. In a desperate attempt to get a hold of herself she turned the chair around so it faced his computer which was still on. She scrolled up to the top of the opened Word document: "Cool" by Sesshomaru Takahashi.

"Sesshomaru Takahashi…"

She mulled over his name, allowing it to fall from her lips like it was already familiar to her. It stirred something up from a distant memory, but she couldn't quite name. That name had her heart pounding not from fear, but from something she didn't recognize. Before she could delve deeper into the subject she looked to her right and saw a set of keys just lying on the desk; a devilish smirk spread across her face as she snatched them up, taking the house key and the combination to the gates. She slipped both things into her pocket as she reached for the phone beside her, but paused before dialing. The miko walked to the doorway and stuck her head out and looked down the hallway.

"Hey do you mind if I make a call?"

She called down and he glanced over at the hallway where her voice came from.

"With the phone?"

He answered back and she gave a loud sigh as she put a hand on her hip.

"No I'll open a window and yell! Of course I mean the phone!"

When he didn't answer she broke the silence.

"If you don't say anything I'm going to take that as a yes."

Kagome stepped back into the plush office and plopped back down into the chair. While she was dialing the taxi company she rose to her feet and looked over the books until she found his; there were so many, all were best sellers and all won some kind of prize; on the walls hung different awards such as Writer of the Year and so on. Her fingers brushed against the smoothness of the books, all looked like they hadn't been touched since they were made._ 'What an amazing person…' _She didn't know what provoked that thought and she didn't want to find out.

She wandered back to the chair and sat down, closing her eyes and taking in the comfort of his demon scent. This room felt so relaxing, the aroma was subtle and calming; she felt she could loose herself in this room, but real life slapped her in the face an hour later the taxi she had called just pulled up to the front gates. She grumbled, but knew she had to give her demon a little show to make him think that nothing was wrong. She ran to the door, but stopped to turn around and wave goodbye with a goofy smile of her face.

"I'll be back by six, so wait for me; 'kay?"

He didn't move from his spot by the kitchen as he waited for her to leave. The moment to door closed he smirked thinking that had successfully gotten rid of her.

"Baka." (Fool/Idiot/Stupid, which ever you prefer he called her)

Now that she was gone, he could finally allow things to get back to normal. He went back to his office, but instantly felt a change. He knew she had been in here; that liquid she was constantly dousing herself with didn't leave a scent, but a lack of scent, like a void in space. Her perfume led him to his computer and chair; he sat down and tried to put the brat out of his mind, knowing for sure that she no longer had access to his home, until he saw his keys. One house key was missing and so were the combinations to the gates.

"Clever little bastard."

He muttered while lighting a cigarette. Sesshomaru had confused himself, why did he seem almost happy that Kagome had stolen his keys and combinations so she could get back into his home? Feeling another headache coming on he took a long drag from his cigarette, letting it out slowly so he could see the smoke float around him before dissipating into the air.

"Kagome Higurashi…"

Her name rolled off his tongue naturally, it was a wonder to him that he had remembered it so easily. There was a rich history in that name that tied the two of them together. It was a Higurashi that had sealed his ancestor to an ancient tree. Everyone in his family knew the story, no doubt that the Higurashi clan knew of it too. Five hundred years ago one of his half-demon ancestors had sought the Jewel of Four Souls guarded by a beautiful and powerful priestess. They declared war on each other from the moment they met; their battles were great, but in the end neither could finish the other off because something always held them back. A bond was forged and soon an affair sprouted which had eventually led to their demise. With the power of the Shikon no Tama they could live together in peace and happiness, but the day they promised to meet, they were pinned against each other. The priestess had suffered a fatal wound, but in the end she gathered the last of her strength and sealed her beloved to the God Tree.

Her dying wish was to seal away the Sacred Jewel so it would never fall into the hands of evil again, so she did something that some found honorable and respected her decision while other were appalled that she had done such a thing. It was rumored that while the lovers were together, the priestess's powers had dropped dramatically for a period of nine months before it slowly began to rise up again; that she had given birth to her half-demon lover's child and she had inherited her mother's spiritual power. In her desperate attempt to keep the world safe from the evil who sought the Jewel, she sealed the Tama inside the body of her own child. She believed that when her child died, she would take the Jewel with her to the afterlife, but fate kept repeating itself when the priestess's daughter gave birth to a child of her own, passing the Jewel into the body of her infant. This cycle was repeated time and time again until the head of the Higurashi clan banned the women with spiritual power from ever having a family of their own.

"Well I'll be damned."

He never knew that he'd actually meet up with a member of that family, _'I wonder if he knows I'm a descendant of his ancestor's lover?' _He propped up his elbow onto the desk and rested his cheek on his knuckles. His lineage, he hadn't though about it for a long time, not since he left the main house in Kyoto, to come live here in Tokyo. His father is probably rolling in his grave with the knowledge that Sesshomaru was harboring a Higurashi in his home. He lit himself another cigarette and forced the girl out of his mind so he could continue his work, but no matter what he typed, her name always seemed to appear in his writing.

* * *

Kagome timidly stepped out of the taxi, looking up at the huge skyscraper before turning around and paying the driver. She watched him as he drove away and almost wanted to call him back to take her home, but she knew she couldn't. She slowly turned back and walked to the front doors with her head held high, knowing the she was probably going to be limping out. She waved to a couple of people whom she had come to know and made sure to use the calmest voice she had when speaking with them. She rode the elevator alone trying to calm her stomach which threatened to pay her an unexpected visit. God what she would give for some pain killer; for a moment she doubled over, her face breaking out into a cold sweat at the pain piercing her abdomen. She gasped and ground her teeth; her knuckles turned white as she gripped the railing.

"Stay calm… stay calm. Just breathe and everything will be fine."

Damn these monthly pains, they had her practically banging her head against the wall. Just before the elevator doors opened, she straightened up and practically slapped a smile on her face. She lightly bowed to people as they passed by, all stopped as they felt her dangerous aura. Her pain radiated off in waves saying: "If you have a death wish, please feel free to piss me off." She stepped in front of the door to her studio; she didn't hear anything, no music, no talking. The miko half hoped they weren't there, but she couldn't just turn back without checking first. She hesitantly placed her hand on the door knob, took a deep breath, turned the handle slowly and pushed the door open.

The first thing Kagome saw was the guys all in the center of the studio, sitting on the floor since they still hadn't brought in any furniture. Miroku was out cold, using his backpack as a pillow and drooling all over it, Aki and Inu-Yasha were both fighting to stay awake with bags under their bloodshot eyes and their hair disheveled, Shippo and Koga didn't seem that effected, sure they were a little tired, but they were demons not held down by human stamina. When the door opened, they all expected to see Mr. K; their eyes practically shot out of their sockets when they saw her.

"KAGOME?!"

They all cried in unison. She smiled weakly and walked in.

"Hey guys I'm b-ACK!"

Before she could finish her sentence she was impaled by five guys; next thing she knew, she was on the floor with the five of them all over her.

"Kagome where have you been?!"

"What happened?!"

"Dumbass you gave us a heart attack! You didn't have to leave like that!"

"Do you have any idea how freakin worried we were?!"

"Where'd you go?!"

"We were about to call the police!"

"You smell nice."

Everyone stared at Shippo for his comment; at the moment he was the only one who seemed happy that she was alive. His words helped bring everyone back to reality; one by one they all stood up and shared equal looks of embarrassment. When they had all calmed down, Aki asked her in a much more controlled voice than before.

"Anything in particular happen while you were gone?"

They all patiently waited for her answer; she smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.

"I uh… found that guy who bad-mouth me the other day."

All of them looked mildly surprised, but they wanted details; they leaned in towards her so they wouldn't miss a heartbeat.

"_And_?"

Inu-Yasha demanded; she laughed nervously, looking at the floor, her shoes, the window, anything but their expectant faces.

"I'm living with him now."

'THUD!'

Miroku passed out from exhaustion and shock; Aki would have collapsed right along with him if it wasn't for Shippo holding him upright. Inu-Yasha was completely dumbfounded, after all that he said yesterday she went against all odds, found him and convinced him to let her stay at his place. _'There really is a god'_. Those left standing were in a state of pandemonium. Shippo had a genuine look of rejection as he stared up at her while still holding their guitarist.

"Are you going to leave us Kagome-sama?"

She looked down at him and her smile disappeared; the commotion stopped for a moment and all eyes turned to the singer.

"Oh Shippo, of course I won't leave you guys. I just won't be living with you."

The guys managed to get over their initial shocked and calmed down; with a few ice cubes thrown down his shirt Miroku was up in an instant. There was uncomfortable silence between everyone and they were desperate for a conversation; of course they weren't going to let this happen with their singer, they just had to find a flaw in who ever this guy was. They all sat in the middle of the studio in a circle like they always did. After a few minutes of looking around and awkward glances Inu-Yasha spoke up.

"So can we at least get his name? You know, so we don't kill the wrong guy."

They all shared a mild laugh and when it subsided she proudly stated.

"His name is Sesshomaru Takahashi."

'THUD!'

This time it was Inu-Yasha who hit the floor; fortunately for him the impact to the face woke him up and he gave her a look of pure horror. Well, they found their flaw in her guy.

"Di-did you just say Sesshomaru Takahashi?"

She nodded and he swooned shaking his head in denial; even sitting down he had to be supported by the band members next to him to keep him from falling. He leaned forward and hid his face in his hands.

"No… no… no…"

He repeated over and over and the guys were once again in an uproar.

"A _demon_?!Kagome, you're living with _a demon_?!"

Aki cried and Inu-Yasha lifted his face up to stare at her.

"My brother… yo-you're living with my _brother_?!"

To the guy's surprise a huge smile spread across her face.

"He's your brother?!"

She cried and ran up to him; she clutched his hands and stared at him with the stupidest smile on her face as stars danced across her eyes. The guys could only stare when they were cut off in mid tantrum as their singer latched onto the silver-haired drummer.

"Where does he like to go? What are his favorite dishes? What's his favorite color, animal, TV show? Where did he go to school? What does he do in his spare time? What kind of girls is he interested in?"

He was bombarded with question after question, as she became rather excited her voice got higher until she was squealing like a little girl. The half-demon was spared when Aki grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her up so they were face to face. She gave him an innocent look while he was seething with anger.

"What the hell Kagome?!"

He cried in her ear and shook her none too gently; she growled and shook his hand off her.

"Now what's wrong?"

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. The redhead gave her an 'I-can't-believe-you're-asking-me-this' look.

"'What's wrong'?! Okay, since you can't seem too figure it out I'll tell you what's wrong! He's! A! _Demon_! How the hell are you gonna live with him and not blow your cover?! We worked so hard on this band; how could you jeopardize it like this?!"

Now it was her turn for retaliation.

"Hey! I'm an individual and I have my own rights! I can live anywhere I damn well please! Besides I practically coat myself in that perfume you gave me; he's never been able to catch my scent and I haven't said a word about the band or anything that might hinder our plans!"

When nobody said anything she continued on.

"Do you honestly think I'm that incapable of taking care of myself? Hell, I've put up with a demon landlord for nearly a year! If I can handle him, I can handle any demon. And if you don't like it, tough, 'cuz I'm staying there from now on!"

When she finished everyone was dead silent; what could they say? Kagome did have a right to her own life and they already butchered it by forcing her to be a guy. The least they could do for her was allow her all the pleasures she wanted; they owed her that much. The band all gave each other side way glances waiting for one or the other to speak up; Aki finally composed himself and heaved a long sigh, rubbing the back of his neck to try and ease the tension that had built up. After a few moments of silence he finally allowed their eyes to meet.

"Do you really think you can handle a demon?"

He said in a concerned and unconvinced tone; a smile reappeared on her face as she squealed and jumped him, locking his neck in a suffocating hug.

"Of course I can! Oh thank you Aki for understanding!"

He gagged and the band all shared a laugh and tried in vain to pry the eccentric girl off of their guitarist. Only Inu-Yasha remained silent and less accepting; he didn't understand, why would Sesshomaru of all people allow Kagome willingly into his home. He knew his brother, the demon was never the type to tolerate another human's presence, he was disgusted by the demonesses, how they so willingly flung themselves at his feet, they offered their bodies to him and he showed them a _very_ good time only to leave them high and dry the very next morning, and he could barely stand half demons, being related to one obviously did not change his views.

A human… and not just any human, but Kagome _Higurashi_. Although the Takahashi's forgot their hate long ago, the Higurashi clan held onto their deep loathing of the demon clan, stories were twisted around so that the poor guardian of the Sacred Jewel fell victim to the lusty half-demon's spell. _'I guess hatred must be hereditary.' _He figured, but somehow Kagome managed to escape that hate filled gene and turned out to be one of the nicest people he had ever met. He had no idea what his demon brother saw in Kagome, but he would accept it none the less. The hanyou smirked and folded his arms.

"Hey Kagome, if you don't let go of Aki, I won't tell you all the juicy details about my brother."

In a flash Kagome released the redhead and pounced the silver haired half-demon knocking them both to the ground. Oxygen was forced out of his lungs when he collided with the floor, but despite the pain that coursed through him he was able to notice the very compromising position of the miko straddling him and he blushed like crazy.

"Start talking."

She said in a voice that promised death if he didn't spill every last detail. Her face loomed over his, making her look very much like the Grim Reaper especially with the blue flames of her purification in the background. Oh well, so much for his perverted moment. Terror of her aura replaced his filthy thoughts of the juncture of her legs seated very close to his hips.

'CRASH!'

"Great news everyone!"

Six pairs of eyes all shot towards the door as it burst open revealing their gun-loving manager. He took one look at Kagome and said.

"I see you're back; about time."

He spoke indifferently and looked away from her to focus on the group. He didn't see the pissed off look she gave him as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"I finally managed to get you a spot on a TV show!"

At once everyone's faces lit up. The vocalist's anger and desire for information was forgotten for the moment as she quickly rose to her feet.

"Really?! Is it Tokyo Pop?! Shojo Beat?! All the Rage?!"

She questioned rather loudly naming off several of the most popular music shows. Mr. K shook his head at each of her guesses; when she finally stopped she looked rather disappointed.

"Well then what is it?"

He smirked.

"The Banzai Games!"

He announced proudly and everyone sweat dropped and fell to the floor; their singer was the first to recover.

"A _game_ show?! We're a band not a circus!"

Everyone raised an eyebrow at her, she probably could have come up with a better term than 'circus', but it was the first word that came to mind. Their manager merely waved an uncaring hand and turned to the door that was swinging on now broken hinges.

"The guests who were originally supposed to appear couldn't make it, so you'll be taking their place. We leave in one and a half hours."

Was all he said and then walked out leaving the band in a stupor. They all blinked, allowing the information to sink in and when it did, they didn't like it very much.

"A game show?"

Inu-Yasha whined as he sat down on the stool behind his drum set; their singer sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey, we're getting on TV, even if it isn't the way we wanted, at least we got ourselves some exposure. I say we go for it."

She flashed them her competitive smile and they did the same.

"So who do you think we're going to be up against?"

Koga asked.

"Probably some lonely old house wife or a fat business man with nothing better to do. Nobody athletic that's for sure."

Miroku quipped with a smirk.

**

* * *

**

"Olympic_ candidates_?!"

Everyone cried in unison at their manager. Their eyes were as wide as saucers as their mouths hung open; Mr. K raised an eyebrow at their shock.

"You're surprised? I thought I told you?"

They all shook their heads and he shrugged unconcerned at them. Before they could protest even further they were all seized and thrown roughly onto the stage. They looked around at their competitors with worried glances while their opponents glared daggers at them. There were three other teams: the Olympic swimming team, track team, and gymnastics team; all were over buff, over confident and over ugly. They found their little section; their band's name was written on a piece of white paper tapped over the original team's name. When they got situated the cameras went on and their host stepped onto the stage. Kagome couldn't help but laugh at the guy's get-up; he looked more like a gay magician with no sense of fashion than a game show host with rainbow top hat and cape accompanied by a glittering suit.

"Hello everyone and welcome to The Banzai Games!"

The crowd cheered and the man politely waited for everyone to calm down before continuing.

"Today's guests come from all over the country! Give a warm round of applause for our Olympic swimmers, track runners, and gymnasts and from our home city of Tokyo here's Bad Luck! Our lucky contestants will be competing for 500,000 yen!"

When the spotlight flashed on them, the audience was confused, but they cheered for them none the less. Kagome's heart raced at their applause, this was her domain, her power; she belonged in the spotlight, there was no better place for her. So when the lights came down on them she showed no signs of sheepishness; the miko grabbed the mic with an air of confidence.

"Hi everyone! We're Bad Luck and we're honored to be here!"

It was a little unexpected, but the crowd gave her a hearty cheer.

"I'll cut the long-winded speech and get right to the chase; we're one of the few bands who doesn't need money so if we win, we'll play for you one of our songs!"

The band needed exposure; it had been two months and they have yet to schedule a concert and even if they did schedule one, they would still need people to go to it. National TV couldn't hurt to recruit a few people. The host blinked in confusion and shock.

"Well… uh…"

He looked over at the crew behind the cameras for instruction but they were just as baffled in what to do as he was; they exchanged glances, but no one said a word.

* * *

"What do you think?"

One of the producers said as he turned to his partner beside him; the man was staring at one of many screens bearing Kagome's smiling and confident face. He shrugged his shoulder and sighed.

"I say, why not? It's a win-win situation for us, if they win they perform and we get to save 500,000 yen and if they lose we won't have to put up with their music."

The producer wrote a quick note and handed it to one of the employees who rushed it down to the stage.

* * *

Everyone was waiting, there was a buzz of impatience and curiosity; the crowd was getting restless. The host looked off stage for help and saw written and a large piece of white paper: Song O.K. Relieved to finally have an answer he turned to the cameras and audience.

"Alright, if Bad Luck wins they will get to play their song!"

The crowd applauded. Kagome turned to the band who now held a new respect for her.

"Alright Kagome!"

Shippo jumped up and down in excitement. Aki smirked.

"I don't know whether to hit you or hug you."

She gave him her competitive sneer.

"Let's just focus on wiping the floor with their sorry hides."

They all turned back to their little podium with a giant red button on top of it and everyone fell into silence. The host with his organized cue cards in hand read off the first one.

"Today's first game challenges our competitors' mental strength; we will be asking you a series of questions taken from last years S.A.T. exam and whoever buzzes in and answers correctly will win 10 points! Contestants, please pick one player from your team to play."

The gang looked around and without a second thought they all shoved Aki to the podium and took several steps back. He glared at them for a moment before sighing; it was no secret to anyone in the band the Aki was about to go off to medical school before he reformed Bad Luck. If Kagome was the glue that held them together, then he was no doubt the brains that made them function properly. It took a while for the other teams to pick their players, most of them stood around confused scratching their heads like the big apes they were, but finally they figured it out.

"Okay contestants, here's your fist question: if stretched out, how many times can our DNA travel to the moon and back?"

Immediately a buzzer rang, the host looked up to see Bad Luck's light flashing.

"Eight."

Aki answered; the man looked down at his cards.

"That is correct! Bad Luck earns ten points!"

The athletes were in a stupor, they didn't even know what DNA was let alone how far it could stretch out. The crowd cheered and suddenly there was a ray of hope for Bad Luck. The questions continued; Aki got every single one right, but towards the end he seemed rather bored with the questions. He propped his elbow up on the podium and rested his chin on the heel of his left hand while the right one lazily hit the buzzer and without even trying her opened his mouth.

"A squared plus or minus the opposite of b times the square root of b squared minus four ac all over two a."

He answered in a monotonous voice and to no one's surprise it was correct. The host was about to ask another question when a buzzer from behind him rang out.

"That sound means that it's the end of the brain workout! Bad Luck is in a hefty lead with 550 points while our Olympic champions…"

He looked over at their score boards and found them all with big fat zeros.

"Uh… not so productive. But there is hope for now it's time for our obstacle courses!"

Her turn directly behind him to a huge opening covered by a red curtain.

"Behind curtain number one…"

The fabric parted to reveal two huge identical glass cases filled to the brim with water balloons.

"Our first game is: Don't Pop it! Our contestants will dive into this pool filled with our special water balloons to retrieve the gold coin at the bottom. Now like we said, these water balloons a special, if you pop one, you will be covered in the dye they're filled with. Who ever retrieves their coin first with the least amount of dye wins! And remember, you are not allowed to use a player more than once which means Bad Luck that your brain is no longer allowed to participate."

The host said indicating to Aki; the remaining five exchanged glances. They looked at Shippo, but he raised his hands and the half inch claws gleamed in the spotlight, same with Inu-Yasha and Koga.

"I volunteer!"

Kagome said raising her hands, but the guys quickly put it down.

"Sorry Kagome, we can't risk it. If you get wet enough your clothes will be as see through as the clothes in Miroku's porno magazines."

She grumbled incoherently about not being able to do anything, and joined Aki, exchanging light conversation while the other teams picked their players. Bad Luck's eyes fell on the back of their keyboardist as he stood in front of them with a spotlight shining down on him and several other players.

"Contestants please pick a pool and wait for my signal!"

At the host's command Miroku gave the band a thumbs up before walking over to the tank which he was going share and fight for the golden coin at the bottom. Just his luck that he got stuck with the Olympic swimmer. To be on the safe side, he removed his shoes and shirt; some of the younger girls in the audience cheered for him to go further and he would have obliged them if he wasn't receiving death glares from the band. He ceased his perverted actions and turned to the host who raised a starter gun.

"On your marks…"

They all crouched down in preparation of the dive.

"… get set…"

Muscles twitched and hearts raced in anticipation. The sound of the gun fired and the four men shot into the tanks like human bullets. Miroku saw through the rainbow of color, the swimmer was way ahead of him, already at the bottom searching for the coin. As he got down farther he began hearing a series of 'pop's while he felt himself become very wet. He groaned inwardly, _'I better find that damn coin before I become a bowl of Fruit Loops.' _As he got towards the bottom he heard the horns go off and his stomach sank; someone already got the coin.

"Damn it."

He muttered and swam back up; when he and the other contestants got out of the tanks the crowd broke out into an uncontrollable laughter. The monk looked over at his friends to see that they were hollering with laughter, holding their stomachs and close to the point of tears; with dread he looked down and paled. His entire body was a rainbow of color; he was completely covered with a purple arm and shoulder a pink right leg, etc. While the stage was alive with laughter the contestants sauntered back to their teams with nothing but their manhood severely injured. While the monk walked back he saw flashes coming from behind the cameras; he looked over and saw Mr. K taking pictures like crazy. He growled, his blood boiling in anger; Miroku reached into his pocket and brought out a 100 yen coin and chucked it at the camera hitting it dead center in the lens, smashing it to pieces. Very satisfied he walked the rest of the way back while hearing the distressed voice of their manager scream:

"MY CAMERA!"

The band laughed, not at the pianist, but at their manager and the pervert was thankful for any way to divert the band member's taunting. Once the chaos died down the announcer held up the retrieved golden coin.

"Congratulations gymnastics team! You won this round and are rewarded with 250 points!"

Bad Luck's mouths fell open as they turned to the host in shock. Immediately there was an outcry from them, but the host had it under control.

"I'm sorry Bad Luck, but in this show, brawn always triumphs over brain."

The athletes gave haughty smirks to the dumbfounded band, but before they could argue again the host began reading from another cue card.

"Now it's time to begin our third competition! Players, please select three of you strongest team mates!"

Without even waiting for a request, Koga, Inu-Yasha, and Shippo stepped off the platform and onto the strange leaving the host slightly baffled, but he could see no arguments from the band. The host didn't had a drop of spiritual power in him, even through Inu-Yasha had his doggy ears showing, Koga and Shippo were sporting their tipped ears and claws, he still didn't figure out that they were demons. It took a little while longer for the humans to decide, but finally they got their three participants.

"Alright! Players, our third competition is our dreaded obstacle course which requires teamwork to get through. The first thing you have to do is…"

**Five Minutes Later…**

"How did we lose?"

Koga cried dumbfounded; he as well as Inu-Yasha and Shippo could only stare in disbelief as the gymnastics team crossed finish line. Their bassist turned to the young DJ and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"This is all your fault! How could you lose your balance?! We were both holding you up! What kind of street kid can't jump over a gate?!"

The fox kit glared at the wolf.

"Watch it wolf. In case you didn't notice those are iron bar gates, all the gates in the streets are chain link…dumbass."

He muttered the last word, but the demon caught it and growled. In a flash he snatched up the fox by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up off the ground.

"What was that?!"

Inu-Yasha chose now to intervene; he quickly grabbed Koga's arm, forcing him to let the DJ go.

"Calm your ass down!"

Not a very well thought out choice of words that only served to anger the wolf.

"And what about you butterfingers?! You let Shippo fall into the water and the gymnasts got ahead of us!"

Now the hanyou was riled up; he growled and flashed his fangs.

"You weren't exactly Mr. Perfect you mangy wolf. Did you forget you're the only one who fell when we had to run across the pool of slime?"

Now all three of them were screaming at the top of their lungs and the spectators watched with great interest and before they knew it, it was all out brawl between the three of them. The only thing you could see through the dust ball they kicked up were limbs that occasionally stuck out. While everyone else was afraid for their lives, Kagome and Aki looked on in mild interest. He sighed and craned his head towards Kagome.

"It's your turn."

She sighed as well, nodding in agreement and stepped off to podium towards the brawling boys. Without slowing her pace, she walked into the middle of the dust ball and there was an immediate halt of all movements. The band mates looked down at their vocalist as fear overcame them. Her face was way too calm; before they could give their pleas for mercy her hands shot out with blinding speed, grabbing them by the front of their shirts and yanking them down to her level. They came face to face with a very, _very_ pissed off Kagome.

"Guys… I am tired, moody, and my cramps are killing me…"

Her voice was monotone and her face was just like slate except for her eyes which promised death to any who tried to defy her.

"… the next person to exchange a blow I will personally ensure that you never have children. Understood?"

They nodded furiously and she that they go. Out of instinct they jumped back a few feet. The three of them blinked a couple times and saw Kagome's face change from the look of death the a hallmark face of happiness. She smiled so innocently and they swore they saw flowers and stars dancing behind her.

"Now let's go back and win okay?"

She giggled and smiled brightly at them and they all fearfully nodded their heads. She spun around and began walking back and the guys quickly followed her back to Aki who laughed and shook his head at them. The crowd and staff all looked on dumbfound and could only wonder what she said to make two demons and one half-demon obey her so easily; they shuddered to think. The host blinked in shock but quickly snapped out of his stupor and turned to the audience.

"Congratulations to the gymnastics team, once again taking the win for another 250 points! We now move to our final competition! Will the team's final players step off their podiums and onto the stage?"

Kagome stepped down as well as the three others who had yet to participate.

"Our final game is: Run to Ask! Our contestants will run on these treadmills…"

He extended his hand towards the exercise equipment that was slowly moving out onto the stage.

"… we'll ask them a question and they have to run on the treadmill to make the red light attached turn on. The first person to turn the light on gets to answer the question. The player with the most points at the end of the game will receive 600 points!"

Now the heat was on; everyone now had a shot at winning the game, it was up to their final players to bring home the money. Kagome looked back at her team for support, they all gave her cheesy smiles and thumbs up; and she gave them a weak one in return.

"Contestants, please step up onto your treadmills!"

They all got onto the exercise equipment; as the miko got on she felt the blood pounding in her ears, her entire body seemed to pulse with her heartbeat. She gripped the handle bars until her knuckles turned white as she felt a jolt of pain shoot up from her abdomen, _'Damn it not now!' _She swore that those cramps were conspiring against her; the moment something important happened to her, they would start up. _'Assholes. You just love to make me suffer.' _Almost as if they had heard her another shock of pain rippled through her. Now she just wanted to get this game over with so she could rest and shove a few boxes of Midol down her throat.

"Here's your first question: What manga was so popular that in 2005 it was made into a movie staring real actors?"

The host barely had time to finish his question before Kagome started running as if the devil were at her heels; the look in her eyes scared the host into backing away from her thinking that she was going to run so fast she would fly off the treadmill. By the time the Olympians figured out they had to start running, her light was shining brightly.

"Bad Luck gets the question!"

All eyes turned to Kagome who stood there with a dumb look on her face making her wish she had paid more attention to the question. She knew it was about a popular manga, but which one?

"Uh… Sukisho?"

Everyone's mouths fell open and the host quirked an eyebrow, he thought this was going to be one of the easier questions.

"Sorry that's wrong; the correct answer was: Battle Royale."

The band gave exasperated sighs behind her and she craned her head to glare daggers at them from the corner of her eye and they quickly shut up. It was almost pathetic how she had them practically wrapped around her little finger; one look from her would be enough to have them catering to her every whim, but it wasn't just the threats that made them so obedient, they were still indebted to her for giving up everything she was to save their band. When she turned back the host was just beginning to read the second question.

"What celestial maiden existed over 700 years ago that was given the power to stop time? Here's a hint: prior to her stopping time, the moon would always be full."

For a second time, the miko ran with blinding speed, but the Olympic champions were ready. Not even bothering to give her opponents a glance, she sped up and before they knew it her light was on and theirs wasn't.

"Bad Luck, once again you have the question."

And once again the universal look of 'I-don't-know-what-the-hell-to-do' was slapped onto the girl's face.

"Um… uh… Ceres?"

There was now a small chuckle among the audience; now the singer really wished she had paid more attention in her history classes. The host shook his head.

"Sorry that is incorrect, the right answer was: Kaguya."

Question #3

"A whale?"

"No. Dolphin."

Question #4

"2?"

"Nope. 4."

Question#16

"Maple tree?"

"No. Cherry blossom."

By now, everyone was becoming agitated; the miko had gotten to answer all the questions, but she didn't get one of them right. The host was at his wit's end and if he had to say 'no' one more time he'd strangle the singer.

"We're down to our last question and with no points on the board for anybody, it's a free-for-all. Here's your final question…"

At the host's announcement everyone fell silent; the band bowed their heads in prayer as Miroku gave a very traditional blessing in his multicolored shorts and skin. All eyes fell on Kagome, she was practically doubled over with exhaustion, sweat rolled down the side of her face. She was running on the last bits of her reserved energy; she didn't want to tap into her spiritual power because someone might recognize it and accuse her of cheating. _'Come on Kagome; one more question, even if you get it wrong, so long as you beat those athletes, Bad Luck'll win…' _

"This famous author wrote popular books like "Phantom Caress", "My Only One", and "Dark Desire". He won Best Author of the Year three times in a row…"

The host didn't even have time to finish his question before Kagome began a sprint that everyone's complete attention on her. Mouths hung open; the miko was running like a demon and before the Olympians could catch up to her speed her light went off.

"He also wrote "Passion", "Dying To Hold You", "Heart", "Your Fire", and "Wild". He drinks his coffee black and wears glasses when he types."

There was a firm determination as Kagome began to recite everything she knew; she took a deep breath and everyone was on the edge of her seat wondering how the hell she knew this.

"His name is…"

* * *

Sesshomaru opened the cupboard filled to the brim with countless high-end alcoholic drinks; he chose the strongest one and poured enough to intoxicate an elephant into his glass. He walked to the living room with the dark amber liquid in his hand and plopped down onto the leather couch in front of the TV. The demon grabbed the remote. _'Finally a chance to relax without that brat around…' _He took a sip of his drink and turned to television on to see the brat on screen screaming

"… SHESSHOMARU TAKAHASHI!"

The drink fell out of his hand and the glass shattered onto the hard wood floor. His mouth fell open reveal the tips of his fangs as his eyes widened by a fraction.

"There is no fucking way…"

* * *

"That is correct!"

The host cried and balloons, streamers, and confetti fell from above and rained down upon the band mates who were jumping up and down ecstatic. They impaled Kagome in a messy group hug, entangling themselves with the streamers that fell on them.

"Band Luck has won the Banzai Games!"

The crowd cheered and the Olympians hung their heads in shame and walked off the stage.

"As promised Bad Luck will get to play one of their songs for you!"

The crowd went into another loud cheer before they settled down. Bad Luck turned around to see a red curtain part revealing their equipment set up and by each instrument was a girl dressed like a Playboy bunny. The band turned around to their manager, slightly confused; the American shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, I prepare for anything."

For once they were thankful to have Mr. K as their manager. As they walked over to their stuff the girls handed over their instruments and gave them a small kiss on the cheek. Kagome felt weird having a girl she didn't know kiss her and give such a seductive look; she felt like gagging, but she resisted the temptation. After tuning and testing everything the band circled around their vocalist.

"So what are we going to play?"

Aki asked and the miko turned to the audience studying them, trying the get a feel of their musical preferences.

"Hm… they feel like an 'Into the Ocean' crowd to me. What do you think?"

They all nodded in agreement and went back to their stations. The young singer took the mic and looked up at the crowd as the spotlights shined down upon her; this is where she belonged, this is where she felt the most comfortable. Adrenaline coursed through her at the excitement of finally being able to sing in front of people after so many years out of the spotlight. She looked over to their bassist and gave him the signal to start. Once again there was silence; Koga struck a chord and Aki and Kagome began to sing in perfect harmony.

"I'm just a normal boy, that sank when I fell overboard.

My ship would leave the country, but it rather swim ashore.

Without a life guess I'd be stuck again, wish I was much more masculine,

Maybe then I could learn to swim like fourteen miles away.

Now floating up and down I spin colliding into sound,

Like whales beneath me diving down I'm sinking to the bottom of my

Everything that freaks me out, the lighthouse beam has just run out

I'm cold as cold as cold can be."

Everyone was instantly captivated by the music; they were absolutely silent, refusing to even breathe, thinking that the sound would be ruined. Aki's voice was good, but Kagome drew people into the thrall of her voice taking them to a place she had made with her music. The audience could almost see the picture she was painting for them; the energy that flowed from her moved them in ways they never thought possible and it was only magnified as the rest of the band came in to sing the chorus with her.

"I wanna swim away, but don't know how.

Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean.

Let the waves come up and take me down,

Let the hurricane set in motion, yeah.

Let the rain of what I feel right now, come down.

Let the rain come down."

Everyone was moved almost to tears by the sheer power of the song. The combination of all their voices swept the audience away, leaving them breathless, hanging on the edge of their seat, wanting more. Now as the chorus ended, it dropped down to just their guitarist and their vocalist singing, but Aki backed his voice down a bit. It was Kagome's time to shine, to show the world just how great she was. The excitement was almost too much to bear for the vocalist as she sang; she wanted to scream off the top of a mountain as an outlet for the pure joy she was experiencing.

"When's the coast guard I keep looking each direction,

For a spotlight give me something, I need something for protection.

Maybe floating junk would do just fine, the jets have sunk, I'm left behind.

I'm treading for my life believe me. How came I keep up this breathing?

Not knowing think, I scream aloud, begin to sink.

My legs and arms have broken down, with envy for the solid ground.

I'm reaching for the life within me. How can one man stop his ending?

I thought of just your face, relaxed and floated into space."

She was phenomenal; there wasn't a person in this world who could match her voice. A woman who was down with a cold suddenly felt in perfect shape, a couple whose relationship was near it's end kissed as if they had been apart for years, and a boy who had just lost his father found hope in that mesmerizing voice; that was what Kagome could do, her aura was one of purity and goodness. There were no cruel hearts or hated thoughts when people heard her voice, there was only the pure white light of her very soul shining down upon them. There was a sense of unity as the band started singing the chorus again.

"I wanna swim away, but don't know how.

Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean.

Let the waves come up and take me down,

Let the hurricane set in motion, yeah.

Let the rain of what I feel right now, come down.

Let the rain come down."

She didn't just sing for the attention now, she sang for them, for those who had devoted themselves to hear her; those who fought the people in front of them so they could hear her better. It wasn't only the audience who was taken by Kagome's voice, the band was sucked in as well; the purity of her song proved too much to bear and they poured their very souls into the music along with her.

"Now wake into the sun, I calculate what I had done,

Like jumping from the bow yeah, just to prove that knew how yeah,

It's midnight's late reminder of the loss of her, the one I love.

My will to quickly end it all sat front row in my need to fall.

Into the ocean, end it all.

Into the ocean, end it all.

Into the ocean, end it… all."

For the third time the chorus rang and Kagome's voice overpowered them all, ringing over theirs like a songbird's cry in an empty forest.

"I wanna swim away, but don't know how.

Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean.

Let the waves come up and take me down,

Let the hurricane set in motion, yeah.

Let the rain of what I feel right now, come down.

Let the rain come down."

The miko spilled out her heart and soul to them as the song began to die away, people silently mourned for the loss. They perked up slightly at the recording of the female voice, unbeknownst to them, that was a small sample of Kagome's real voice as she sang in the background.

"Into space…

_Into the ocean, end it all…_

_Goodbye, goodbye…_

_Into the ocean, end it all…_

I thought of just your face."

There was a moment of silence as the last chord died away before the crowd erupted into a mass of hysteria of screaming, clapping, and cheering. The band looked on at the crowd with goofy smiles; their fist big hit was an absolute success. Kagome looked back at her band with the happiest smile they had ever seen on her and then back to the audience who now rallied their voices into one word which they repeated over and over.

"Encore! Encore! Encore!"

The staff, tried to get them to stop, but there was no capping the joy and serenity they felt; that pure, safe place that was made with one voice alone. The singer looked back at the group; the crowds cheer was like a drug high.

"Shall we appeal to their request?"

Inu-Yasha asked and the band mates looked at one another, all thinking the same thing. They played their song another three times, until security had to be called because the stage needed to be emptied out for the next show. Reluctantly people left, but they took with them a little piece of heaven.

* * *

The demon author stared at his screen in silence, even now, that voice rang in his ears, in his heart. It awoke something that hadn't seen the light of day for nearly eight years; he was forced to look away from the screen as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes clamped shut.

"Yuki…"

He whispered the woman's name and for a moment her beautiful face came to his mind like it did on an occasion, but this time it was different; her face wasn't as clear as it used to be as if there should be someone else there, but who? The writer opened his eyes and turned his head to the screen and saw a close up of the singer's face.

"You've got to be kidding me."

He groaned, but couldn't take his eyes away for the life of him. That face drew his eyes in and held them prisoner; that vocalist was a little too innocent to him. He had seen the world and there was no way someone like her could exist without that purity being a façade. That voice intrigued him, it did not sound like that of a man, it was too… beautiful. The moment the word came to mind he shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts.

"God, I need a drink."

He said to himself and went back to the cupboard.

* * *

Kagome couldn't hide the pure unconditional joy she felt as the band loaded up in the van and drove off back to the studio. When they got back to their room there was a cause for celebration; Koga left for a few minutes and came back with a cake and alcohol. Even Shippo who never drank, indulged himself with everyone else; after everyone got situated Kagome stood up and raised her glass, wobbling a little bit as she did so.

"To Bad Luck!"

She cried, her words slightly slurred from the effects of her drink; everyone raised their glasses up with her and Shippo hiccupped, his cheeks tinted pink and his body swayed to and fro.

"To Bad Luck!"

The other band mates cried in unison and took a long swig. Shippo tilted his head back a little too far and ended up falling backwards and everyone roared with laughter; he sat up sheepishly his face red from embarrassment and the effects of the alcohol. The hours passed and when the drinks were gone, they resorted to taking shots of black coffee to quickly sober themselves up. Poor Shippo had passed out two hours ago and had to be revived by dumping a bucket of ice water on top of his head and one by one the band disappeared back to the apartment, until only Inu-Yasha and Kagome were left. The hanyou looked over at the miko as she threw her head back, forcing a seventh shot of coffee down her throat. Her eyes bulged and she gagged; alarmed he quickly slapped her back and cleared her airway. She coughed and turned to him.

"Thanks."

She muttered shyly as she refilled her cup, but before she could bring the cup to her lips, a clawed hand reached out, gently grabbed her wrist and lowered her hand.

"I think you've had enough. What are you trying to do, sober yourself up for my brother?"

They way he said the last word had her heart lurch; she looked up at him.

"Inu-Yasha I… I…"

She wanted to say something, but didn't know what. That voice made her feel guilty; she played with her hands and looked away from him. His fingers caught her chin led her face back up to his; there was a slight smile, hiding the shock and worry for her.

"Don't apologize, you've done nothing wrong."

Those eyes were so amazing, they were so much like Sesshomaru's, only these one's seemed a little softer, his were much more intense. He let go of her chin and lowered his mouth down to the shell of her ear.

"Make him happy."

She shivered at his voice, she wanted to ask what he meant when he said that, but he pulled away and began walking out the door. He paused and looked back.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride to his place."

It was well into the night when Inu-Yasha dropped her off.

"You sure you don't want me to go with you?"

He called out, but she shook her head and waved goodbye to him when he left. She walked up to the iron gates and entered the pin number she had taken from the author. The gates opened and she walked inside making sure to close them before continuing down the windy road, she was still a little tipsy from her party, so she knew she had to stay on her toes, lest she spill any important information. While she walked she mulled over what the half-demon said to her; what did he mean? Was Sesshomaru unhappy? Why would he be, he was one of the richest people in Japan and everywhere he went gorgeous women threw themselves at his feet. As she neared the huge house, she saw that the lights in the living room were still on; was he still awake this late at night?

She unlocked the door and was met with a very heavy silence; the door creaked as she opened it and closed it behind her. The room was empty; even with her fuzzy senses she could still pick up the scent of a very strong alcohol. _'So... I wasn't the only one who had a few drinks.' _She walked into the kitchen and saw him sitting on a stool; his body hunched over with his long silver hair spilling around him and hiding his face. His right elbow was propped up on the counter with a glass in his hand and close by was a half empty bottle of the said alcohol.

"Sesshomaru?"

She called out and the hunched figure stiffened for a moment before craning its head around; their eyes met and Kagome took a step back out of instinct. Those eyes were even more piercing than the last time; they were narrowed and looked upon her like a hunter eyeing its prey. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest and throbbed in her ears.

"A-are you alright?"

She choked out and he snarled in response and rose out of the stool, but stumbled and feebly grabbed the counter for support. He was totally wasted, but even in this intoxicated state he wouldn't admit it. As he rose up and tried to walk, he stumbled again and dropped to his knees.

"Sesshomaru!"

She cried and ran to him, grabbing his arm and helped pull him to his feet and he quickly tried to pull away.

"Leggo ov me."

His words were heavily slurred and when he walked his body swayed, making it hard for her to hold him upright.

"No way."

She responded and looked up at him; he growled at her, flashing his teeth, but didn't try to pull away again. He looked away and snarled.

"Annoying brat."

He slurred and she smirked.

"That's right I'm the brat and you're the bastard; so what are you doing Sesshomaru, drowning your sorrows?"

He snorted; very unsophisticated of him.

"Nope. Juss takin 'em out for a lil swim."

She couldn't help but laugh at his response as they both wobbled over to his room. She kicked the door open and tried to maneuver them through the small door way, but in doing so she accidentally let go of him and he fell face first onto the floor, landing with a very loud

'THUD!'

"Oops."

She said, laughing nervously; he lifted up his head and glared at her.

"I shoudda known bedder than ta truss a stinkin human ta carry me."

He let her lift him up again and they wobbled the few short few over to his bed; she tried to set him down gently, but ended up dropping him onto the mattress.

"My bad."

She said while helping to get his entire body onto the bed, all the while his sharp golden eyes staring right through her.

"You don' talk like a guy, you don' sing like one, and you certainly don' look like one. If you didn' wear tha damn spray you probably don' smell like one."

He finally said; she froze and looked over at him. The miko bit her lower lip.

"What would you say if I told you I wasn't one?"

The words slipped out before she could stop them; she gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Her heart pounded as he stared at her; he looked like he was thinking and having trouble connecting the dots.

"I'd say: you're beautiful."

He said with absolute conviction, with no remorse or embarrassment. She blushed and looked away as her heart pounded at his words.

"Thank you."

She said quietly and looked back at him to say something else, but saw that he had passed out. She smiled and pulled the covers over him to let him sleep.

"Goodnight."

She whispered and walked out of his room, she went to her room, changed into her pajamas, and got into bed. Only under the safety of the covers did she allow that smile to spread across her face. Beautiful… he thought she was _beautiful_. Nobody had ever complimented her like that and her lower abdomen clenched at the thought, sending little charges of pleasure running up and down her spine. She giggled and played that moment of time over and over in her head, never getting tired of it. As she shifted in her bed to stare up at the ceiling, she couldn't help, but sing out of pure joy.

* * *

Two months had passed since Sesshomaru had his little drinking binge and much to Kagome's relief, he didn't remember a single moment that had transpired between them. Now she lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling listening to the soft 'taps' of the keyboard; she had grown used to the sound and for a moment found comfort in it. The only reason she was in her room in the first place was because of boredom. Yes, believe it or not Kagome Akiko Higurashi was in a huge multi-acre mansion with Japan's hottest romance novelist and was bored.

She had wanted to explore the mansion, but she preferred to do it without him around; she tried to do it with his working, but he kept dragging her back to her room. She groaned and rolled away from her door and the sound of tapping keys; there was no getting past that damn watch dog. She chose to stare at her carpet instead, focusing on the moonlight that spilled onto the floor as the shadows of branches swayed; they swayed like waves of the ocean like…

"Water."

She said and as quick as lightning she shot out of bed and ran to her door. She tip-toed out as quietly as she could and peered into his room; he was diligently typing away on his computer, so focused on what he was doing, that he didn't even notice her watching him. The moment she was convinced that he wasn't going to bother her, she slipped back into her room and threw open the window. As cool breeze welcomed her as she climbed out, but paused as she crouched on the sill of the window, looking back to hear the typing. When the sound reached her ears and turned her back on him and jumped out of the window and into the vast gardens. She had been in the gardens before; in the day time they were beautiful, but at night with the full moon, they were breath taking. Everything was covered in silver light. There were large open spaces of rock gardens, ponds, and flowers. There were paths made of stone and protected by wisteria trees growing on either side which led to other areas such as the one she was in now.

There were three of these said paths and she took the one on her right. She didn't waste her time as she sprinted down the path, blurs of purple, green, and brown rushed by her as she ran. She looked up to see the full moon peeking through the branches of the trees; splashing her face with pools of silver. She continued running until the path widened into another open area; it was a rock garden with a fair sized pond in the very center. She slowed her pace to a walk as she reached the water's edge; she stopped and looked down at the water, the way the moonlight was cast upon the pond made it look like it was glowing. A smile couldn't help, but tug at her lips in excitement.

She looked back one more time to assure herself that she was alone, before she began to remove all of her clothing, throwing the articles aside like the nuisances that they were. Her father had taught her long ago a trick to controlling her spiritual power, he called it the 'Walk on Water Treatment' and it was self explanatory. The only reason she was undressing was because the clothing weighed her down and limited her movements. When doing such a trick she wanted to be as light and as free as she possibly could. The silver rays reflected off her body, giving her an angelic glow.

Kagome closed her eyes, took a deep breath and leapt off the rock right into the very center of the pond; she landed on the ball of her right foot. By releasing the right amount of her power, she was able to walk upon the water like solid ground. She spun on her toes and took another leap, landing on a small wave. Her spiritual energy formed a perfect sphere around her and swelled at her excitement; it had been so long since she had done this and reminded her greatly of the home she missed. She spun around again and her hands swayed with her body. Water snaked up from all sides and wrapped itself around her 'bubble'. Tiny droplets caught by her power floated around her form and glittered like diamonds. Even though she was in a place she barely knew, it felt like home and she couldn't help, but sing.

"May it be the evening star, shines down upon you.

May it be when darkness falls, your heart will be true."

Her voice was uncensored and carried all through the forests around the mansion; it traveled all the way to the house and right into the writer's sensitive ears. _'This is for you Sesshomaru…'_

* * *

The demon stopped typing and leaned back in his chair with another headache; he had been getting a lot of those since his unwanted room mate moved in. He pushed the chair away from the computer and stared up at the blank ceiling. His ears twitched when he heard something coming from the gardens; he froze and focused all of his attention on the sound. A beautiful melody rang in his ears that pulled at his heartstrings; he sat upright and turned towards the direction where he heard the song the strongest. At first he just wanted to sit back and listen to the enchanting music, but something was amiss. How could someone slip past his defenses without him noticing? The youkai rose to his feet and walked out of his room, but for some reason, his demon side was reluctant to get any closer. Whoever was in his gardens had the highest spiritual power he had ever felt and the demonic part of him almost cowered before it.

He was about to walk down the hall when he stopped; the brat's door was open and the singing was the loudest yet. Curious, he stepped inside and the first thing he noticed was that Kagome was not in her room and her window was wide open. His eyes narrowed as he walked over to it and stuck his head out; the singing grew louder as he turned his head to the right. His demon blood hissed in displeasure at the source of the power. With his acute eyes, he could see the glow of spiritual energy; he leapt out and landed silently on the rocks before taking off into a sprint down the path.

When he came upon the priestess, he was prepared to fight her to get her out of his territory. He rounded, his mouth open ready to call out a challenge, but when he saw her, he froze. She was breath-takingly beautiful, in all his years, he had never seen anyone as elegant as she. Her perfect figure was bathed in silver light; her _naked_ figure that is. The young priestess glided across the water with fluid grace; she danced to her mesmerizing song. He was enchanted by her moves, the way her body flowed like the water she danced upon. Her voice was so clear now, so perfect, so original, yet he felt as if he heard this voice before. He could only watch as a silent and unknown spectator to her one-of-a-kind performance.

"You walk a lonely walk, oh how far you are from home.

Believe and you will find your way.

A promise lives within you now."

Her voice captivated him as she sang, he had never heard such purity; it made him believe that her words were true. He peered closer, but no matter what he did, he could not clearly see her face; the strong contrast between the darkness and the light made it impossible to anything besides the outline of her flawless and bare figure. He sniffed the air, but could not catch her scent; he blinked a couple times in confusion. Was he imagining things?

"May it be the shadow's call will fly away.

May it be your journey on to light the day.

When the night is overcome, you may rise to find the sun."

Why did he feel as if she was singing to him? Like this song was written just so he could hear it? He knew he had heard the voice somewhere, but he couldn't quite figure it out, which was surprising since he was a master of memory. As much as he wanted to figure it out, he couldn't quite think straight with that enthralling melody shaking him to the very core. He almost _wanted_ to loose himself to that beautiful voice.

"Believe and you will find your way.

A promise lives within you now…

A promise lives within you… now."

He had to see her face to know who she was, to prove he wasn't crazy. The demon now stalked her; with her song over he was able to think more clearly. He slipped into the cover of the trees; the youkai crept closer, now at the edge of where the trees end and the rocks begin, he was able to see the lashes on her eyes, but still her face was shrouded by the strong contrast. Without even realizing it, he took a step out of the cover of the trees, exposing himself to the openness of the garden; he took another step, and another. He was close, one more step and he would be able to see her, he took another step and beneath his foot was a branch that made the loudest

'SNAP!'

he had ever heard. The miko whipped her body around; their gazes met and she let out an ear-splitting scream and her sphere of spiritual energy exploded sending water in every direction. The water reflected the light of the moon and temporarily blinded him. When the water was brought back down by gravity he managed to see the figure of the priestess sprinting into the cover of the trees. He smirked and followed her in, if it was a chase she wanted, then he would gladly oblige her. He went in the same way she did, but when he looked around, everything was still; there wasn't a hint of unnatural movement. As he walked deeper in he did not see the shadowy figure climb through the branches, gliding upon the tree tops, just as she did with the water. She was careful not to disturb a single leaf as she slipped past the demon.

When she stepped into the open space of the pond and rocks she became aware for the first time of her vulnerability and nakedness. She knew the Sesshomaru would figure out soon that he had been tricked, so she had to be quick in finding her discarded clothes. She found them scattered everywhere and cursed herself for being so messy. Her clothes were easy to get, it was her straps and padding that was the problem, the wind had scattered them all over, there was no way she could get them all in time. She just had to grab what she could and did just that. She ran at top speed and quickly jumped up to her window and climbed in. She hurriedly threw the straps and padding on before her clothes. As she pulled her shirt over her head, she winced and pulled her shirt off to find blood on it. She looked at her arms and found them littered in scratches, when she looked in the mirror her face was in the same condition.

"Oh just perfect, how am I supposed to explain this?"

The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow until she heard Sesshomaru come in through the front door. He walked by her room and stopped; he smelled blood coming from the brat's room. He pushed the door open to find Kagome sitting on her bed with an outdated first aid kit. She looked up at him and smiled cheekily.

"I saw you going after something and I decided to follow you. If I had known this would happen I'd have stayed put."

He quirked an eyebrow and turned to leave, but stopped when he saw her struggling to give herself first aid. The demon rolled his eyes and walked into her room; she froze and slowly tilted her head back so they were gazing at each other. Without asking he sat down on her bed and took her arm; her heart pounded at his touch when his fingers ran over her skin inspecting the wounds. Then with no warning he brought his head down upon hers and the miko's heart thundered in her ears. Electricity shot through her body when he kissed one of the worst wound on her forehead. His lips were so soft and warm; she melted into his kiss, until she felt his tongue gently sweep across the laceration.

It felt like someone had clamped down hard on her feminine core and she almost moaned with wanton abandon. Then he pulled away and moved down to the injuries on her shoulders and kissed them as well, his tongue moving over the cuts; her body went weak and she nearly fell back. When he pulled away she looked down at the places where he kissed her and saw that the wounds were healed. Without a word exchanged she allowed him to heal all of the cuts and just as quickly as he was on her bed, he was off of it and at her doorframe. Her hands ached to touch him; she had to sit on them to prevent herself from grabbing him. She suddenly felt so bereft without his warmth close to her. The young miko snapped out of her thoughts when she heard his rich and deep voice speak.

"My mother had a gift for healing; it was in her saliva, so when she did kiss a wound, she really made it 'all better.'"

He explained and turned to leave, but she stopped him; he could see the flushed look on her face and those glaze over eyes.

"Sesshomaru… that's the first thing you ever told me about your family."

He gave her a half hearted sneer and looked away.

"Actually Kagome…"

She perked up at the sound of her name, over the last two months, he never called her by her first name before, he didn't even call her by her last name. He looked back at her with his piercing eyes.

"… I've never told you anything before."

She smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you chose to tell me."

He rolled his eyes at her sincerity and turned away.

"Go to bed before you give me another headache."

He scoffed and walked away; as she watched him disappear and crawled underneath her bed and shivered. His touch felt like a brand; she could still feel his tongue gliding over her, but she didn't dwell on it for too long, she was tired and needed rest. But his feeling was something she couldn't ignore; it felt… good. She craved more of it, almost like an addiction; he was dangerous and she knew that, but she couldn't resist his touch. She bit her lower lip, deep in thought _'I'm not an expert at this but I think I might…' _Before she could finish her train of thought, she slipped into the subconscious world of her dreams. There were many things that she was unsure about, but one thing she knew for certain was that life with him would always be full of surprises.

* * *

Inu-Yasha pulled up into the driveway and parked his bike; he could see the lights in the apartment were still on. _'Strange.' _He thought since everyone was usually asleep around this time; the hanyou walked up to the door, but stopped when he saw Aki on the bench next to him. The redhead's hands were clasped together and he rested his forehead on them while his elbows were propped up on his knees. His entire body was hunched over and he seemed deeply troubled.

"I just dropped Kagome off at my brother's place."

He said and saw the guitarists' knuckles go white, but Aki did not move.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?"

The band mate solemnly nodded his head.

"I'm fine. I just need a little fresh air; you don't have to wait up for me. I'll be inside in a minute."

The silver-haired half-demon knew that Aki was lying, but he didn't want to stick his nose in where it didn't belong so he quietly walked inside the apartment and shut the door behind him. The redhead ground his teeth together in an attempt to lessen the pain, but there was nothing he could do to get rid of it. It had been two years, he thought he had gotten over it, but clearly the wound was still as raw as it was back then.

"Kagome…"

He whispered her name in agony; his throat felt raw and tight, his eyes burned, he clenched them shut, and dug his nails deep into his flesh. He could muffle his cries of anguish, but his tears were something that he had no control over; they ran down the side of his face and landed on his pants, each drop had its own dark stain.

"… I wish I could make myself forget, the way I made you forget."

**I've got two words to explain my long update: shit happens. And I got a lot of it after Christmas break. I don't know when I'll update next, might be a few weeks, or a few months I can't give that much of an estimate. Oh and also the uploading on is being a real bitch. **

**Okay time for the credits!**

**Songs: Into the Ocean by Blue October and May It Be by Enya **

**I loved drunken Sesshomaru -! I think that was my favorite part in the whole chapter. **

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**-Love's Essence **


	3. Dirty Little Secret

**Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters of Inu-Yasha or Gravitation. This story is partially based on the series Gravitation.**

**Gravitation**

Chapter 3: Dirty Little Secret

Kagome woke up by the high-pitched 'beeps' sounding from her alarm clock; as always, she slammed her hand down on the annoying little thing and sat up in bed. She raised her arms up high to stretch her muscles and relaxed them to take in the first glimpses of the new day. Over the course of the two months she had stayed here she had snuck in bits of possessions a few clothes here, a video game there and now her room felt more like well, her room. She stood up and walked to the door to hear Sesshomaru in the kitchen cooking breakfast. She giggled at the thought; who knew that a male demon could cook? Turns out he is an exquisite chef, creating all the foreign delicacies that had her mouth watering.

She turned her back to the door and threw off her pajamas, and stood in front of the full-length mirror to do her straps and padding before putting on any of her clothes. This had become routine for her since Sesshomaru still thought she was a he. After the clothes came the spray; Aki gave her an entire box of his special perfume to ensure that her secret was safe; as she stood in the mirror she double-checked everything turning this way and that just to be on the safe side before she walked out of her room, down the hall, and into the kitchen. She saw the demon frying something the smell of something oh-so-tantalizing with a white silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black jeans.

"Good morning!"

She stated happily and pranced into the kitchen; he gave her a side-way glance before turning back to his food.

"What makes you say that?"

He replied and she grinned cheekily.

"Well the sun is out, it's a beautiful morning and I have lived to see the day where a guy was doing the cooking."

She stated and sighed loudly taking a seat at the small table and leaning back in her chair. She checked the clock and noted that Inu-Yasha was going to be picking her up soon; she wanted to use one of Sesshomaru's cars, but he wouldn't let her even touch them. Once he sat down with his breakfast that gave her the green light to go and get her own meal as she leapt out of her chair and piled her plate with food. She looked at the clock and saw that her ride was should be here in a minute so she placed the edge of her plate to her lips and used her chopsticks to cram her mouth full of food.

"Plan on entering an eating contest? God knows you've got the bottomless pit for it."

She stopped and glared at him through the corner of her eye, of course she didn't look very threatening with noodles sticking out of her mouth and her cheeks bulging with food. She turned back and continued eating as if he hadn't said a word. A minute or two passed before Sesshomaru's ears twitched and he turned his head to the front door.

"Your ride is here."

He announced hearing the faint footsteps along the gravel, not a minute later there was a knock at the door.

"I'll be there in a minute!"

She cried, knowing that Inu-Yasha heard her. She did some last minute cramming before running back to the kitchen.

"Are you going to apologize to me?"

She asked like she always did before she left.

"Nope."

He answered not even bothering to look up from his paper; she flashed him a smile while grabbing a slice of toast.

"Kay! See you at seven then!"

She ran out the door, grabbing Inu-Yasha by the hand and dragging him along with her. She couldn't let the two brothers meet; last time she let those two talk… well, let's just say that the caters got filled up a few hours later and the holes in the walls were fixed. They hopped on his bike and sped away; through the second story window, Sesshomaru watched them drive away. Why he even bothered to leave the kitchen and walk up the stairs just the see Kagome leave was beyond him; it helped to just do it and not think about it. There was something different about the singer and he was going to figure it out.

Inu-Yasha roared down the freeway swerving past cars; there was reason for speeding: their first concert was set… it was in _two weeks_. Now that might not sound like a short amount of time, but they didn't even have their set done which is not good. They got to Tohma Studios in record time and when they got to their studio, everyone was already set up. She went to her mic and the hanyou sat down behind his drum set.

"Hi Kagome!"

Shippo said cheerfully and he had reason to be. Tomorrow Kagome was going to be living back at the apartment to get in some off the clock work and practice; the past two months living at Sesshomaru's place had cut a huge amount of time from Shippo that should have been spent with his unofficial "mother". The kitsune couldn't help but feel extremely jealous of the demon author for taking her away. He burned with envy how alls she ever talked about was him, Sesshomaru this, Sesshomaru that, he felt like ripping his hair out. No… not his hair _Sesshomaru's_! The time their vocalist had spent with them no doubt made her happy, but after living with Sesshomaru, whenever she came to work, she looked so much happier.

"Ohayo (Good morning) Shippo!"

She replied as cheery as ever, before turning back to the microphone. The band practiced for hours on end; there were no windows in the studio so they had no way of telling what time it was, but when the went to the conference room for lunch, the sun was well past midday. Miroku left to go get their food, he came back with Chinese take out, not their first choice, but food was food and they were starving.

"Inu-Yasha! You took all the sweet and sour pork!"

Shippo cried in staring down at the empty box; the hanyou licked the sweet and sour sauce off his lips and smirked.

"You gotta be quick."

The fox demon pouted when suddenly a plate containing a few pieces of said food was placed in front of him.

"Here Shippo, have mine."

Kagome said with that same kind smile; he clapped his hands like a little kid and hugged her.

"Thanks Kagome!"

He cried and while she wasn't looking he turned his head back and stuck his tongue out at Inu-Yasha who scoffed and crammed as many chow mien noodles in his mouth as he could. They weren't surprised when Mr. K unexpectantly dropped in and by dropped in, they meant kicked open the door, cocked his gun, and few a threw grenades into the room; that was only to get their attention. They made quick work of the live grenades, throwing them out the window and letting them explode in midair; it didn't take the band long to figure out that their manager lived for the extremes. Once when Inu-Yasha couldn't pick Kagome up, he ordered a helicopter to come by Sesshomaru's house, blew a hole into a random wall and dragged her out of the kitchen. When the demon found out that all of that had been done to get rid of her, he didn't lift a finger in protest only a bill for the damages which Mr. K paid of course… using the _band's_ money.

"What the hell do you think you're doing lazying around like this?! This isn't America! Bands actually have to work to prepare their performances!"

They all rolled their eyes, but they were prepared for this too; Miroku fished through a bag completely separate from the others and pulled out a chilled plastic container. The sweet scent of a very specific chocolate hit the gun lover's nose and he froze turning his head around eyeing the little black box his mouth watering.

"Th-that wouldn't happen to be Ghirardelli chocolate cake, would it?"

They all nodded and the pianist slowly made his way to the open window and the American followed like a puppy following a biscuit.

"Fetch boy!"

Miroku cried and threw the cake out the window and ducked down as their manager soon followed after the sweet. He calmly closed the window and brushed off his hands before taking a seat; the band members exchanged a moment of silence before bursting out laughing. It wasn't often they got the upper hand on their manager, so they savored these moments; after they finished all their food, the band strode to their studio with new vigor. They practiced long after the sun went down and the street lights came on, loosing track of time was common for them so only Kagome was surprised when she was told that it was eight thirty.

"_Eight thirty?! _Shit! I promised Sesshomaru that I'd be home by seven!"

A flicker of jealousy rippled across Shippo's face before giving her a fake smile; using the word 'home' with such familiarity to Sesshomaru's place definitely had more than one person in the band on edge.

"Don't worry Kagome, I'm sure he'll understand, besides isn't it more fun to hang out with guys who don't hate you?"

The fox kit suggested.

"He doesn't hate me… does he?"

She asked quietly, the kitsune gave an uncaring shrug. Aki, although it didn't look like he was interested was listening intently; their DJ wasn't the only one who was green with envy, the guitarist just had a better way of hiding it. He was overjoyed to see how happy Kagome was, since she moved out of the Higurashi's main house to here in Tokyo, she didn't seem as joyful, but now with the demon in her life, her face is as bright as a penny.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

She waved good-bye to the guys as she sped off on Inu-Yasha's bike; she didn't seem to notice Aki's solemn expression, but the silver haired half-demon did. When they arrived at the mansion he parked his bike and took off his helmet and the miko knew that something important was on his mind.

"Kagome, how serious was your relationship with Aki?"

The priestess was slightly taken aback by the question; she blinked and looked away trying to remember.

"It wasn't serious I don't think; it didn't last long… or maybe it did…"

The half-demon quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Kagome, you're not making any sense."

She rubbed her head in confusion as if she was having trouble remembering. It was a couple years ago and shouldn't have been that hard to recall something like this, but it was.

"My head… it hurts."

A ripple of pain was etched on to the contours of her face as she dug the heel of her hand across her forehead. Now the drummer was really becoming concerned.

"Hey, are you alright?"

She waved an uncaring hand to drop the subject, but still she was in pain which worried him because never once did Kagome ever get a headache out of the four months he knew her. Now she was becoming worried, there was something important she needed to remember, something that had to do with Aki, but every time she thought she remembered she was swamped with pain. It was hurting so much she couldn't even form complete sentences; this pain was curving her train of thought.

"I-I have to remember… it was important. Aki, he-he and I… we…"

Suddenly she lost consciousness and began falling, but the hanyou, with his quick reflexes caught her with ease and picked her up bridal style.

"Kagome! Kagome! Wake up! Kagome!"

But she didn't, he shook her and yelled in her ear, but she refused to open her eyes. He looked up at the mansion and made a small growl of displeasure before leaping over the iron gates and running down the path to his brother's house. As much as the drummer and his brother didn't get along, for the sake of the vocalist's health, he was willing to swallow his pride for a few minutes. Since his arms were full he used his foot to pound on the door and called out the demon's name. Not a moment later the author opened the door and the first thing he saw was Kagome passed out.

"Inu-Yasha."

He acknowledged his younger sibling with distaste, he actually caught himself growling at the sight of someone else holding her; he stepped aside and allowed the two to enter, but not without having to place a great amount of restraint on his instincts to snatch the singer out of the hanyou's arms.

"Kagome, he passed out. Where's his room?"

The half-demon made sure to use the 'he' terms since his brother was still unaware of her true identity.

"Down the hall."

He replied and Inu-Yasha couldn't help but catch the warning tone in his voice. When they got to Kagome's room, he carefully set her on the bed and turned back to his brother.

"I'm sure you can handle it from here."

The hanyou said curtly; he wanted to get the hell out of there before either one of them said something stupid and they end up tearing the house apart, not to mention there was a certain someone he had to see, his blood grew to a scalding at just the thought.

"I'll be back to pick him up in the morning."

He said before leaving; the demon heard the front door shut behind him and not long after the sounds of the bike speeding away. _'He left faster than usual… I wonder what business he has to take care of.' _He pondered; the hanyou was known for his quick exits, but this one had a little more urgencytoit. He shrugged it off and looked down at the singer; she was sleeping, but there was a thin film a sweat across her forehead, all color was drained from her face, and even in an unconscious state, she seemed to be in pain. He didn't know why her being in pain had him concerned and he didn't want to know why so he got the hell out of her room before he could think too deeply on the subject.

**--Bar line not working--**

Inu-Yasha hopped on his bike and revved up before speeding off faster than he had ever gone; anger boiled up within him as the image of Kagome in pain and passing out like that flooded his mind. When arrived at the apartment complex and didn't even bother to put his motorcycle into the garage as he threw off his helmet and stormed through the front door. Everyone jumped when they heard the door slam and all turned to see a seething half-demon glare daggers at Aki. They all watched as he made a bee line straight for the guitarist.

"What did you do to her?!"

He demanded as he grabbed the redhead by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up so that he was standing. The band mates could feel the anger rolling off him in waves and they carefully rose to their feet and approached him; he growled and swiped his claws at them in warning.

"He hasn't answered my question yet!"

He cried and turned back to their guitarist his eyes began to bleed red as his demon blood fought for dominance.

"What are you talking about?"

He asked calmly and the hanyou snapped, picking up Aki off the ground and threw him down on the floor. Hard wood connected with bone and made a sickening crunch sound; now they knew they couldn't just stand by. Koga and Shippo were quick to act grabbing Inu-Yasha while Miroku helped pull the injured player onto his bed. The half-demon did not want to be held down as he struggled against the two.

"How dare you ask me that! You know exactly what I'm talking about! You did something to Kagome that prevented her from remembering a time in her life when you were with her!"

All eyes went to the Aki accusingly, but the silver haired drummer wasn't finished yet.

"It caused her _pain_! So much so that she _passed out_!"

Fear reflected in the dull bronze eyes, _'That's not supposed to happen…' _He thought and his heart raced in fear for their singer. Now the whole band had turned against their guitarist, a part of them now wanted to let Inu-Yasha go so he could teach the redhead a lesson or two about what happens when you mess with Kagome. Everyone waited for his answer, the tension grew when he refused to reply.

"What's going on Aki?"

Koga asked with a warning tone in his voice, Shippo's eyes grew dark and stormy with anger that _anyone_ would dare hurt his mother. If the half-demon wasn't going to hurt the band member, then he would.

"You wouldn't understand."

He said quietly and rage began to consume them.

"Try us."

Shippo said, daring him not to answer. Now it was the redhead's turn to get angered; he rose to his feet, anger boiling over, why couldn't they let this drop? Why couldn't they see he couldn't explain it? In the heat of the moment her grabbed a glass from his night stand and threw it to the floor. It shattered into a thousand tiny shards and rained across the floor.

"I can't! It was for Kagome's own good that she doesn't remember!"

He cried at the top of his lungs and the bands looks of anger were replaced with ones of shock.

"You didn't know Kagome before that time! She's not supposed to remember; I don't know how this could possibly happen!"

He didn't realize he was crying until he felt the tears run down his cheeks, frustrated and embarrassed he quickly turned away and wiped them off, the liquid drops glittered like jewels on his palm. He sat on his bed and hid his face in his hands.

"Please… don't ask me to explain, blame me if you want, hate me if you want, I don't care. The only thing that matters to me is that what happened two years ago never be remembered by her."

They were all dead silent, their rage forgotten and replaced by understanding and unease. If Aki was crying over this and practically begging them not to press the subject, then it must have been pretty bad, they could only imagine what it must have been like for their singer.

"I think it would be in everyone's best interest, especially Kagome's, if we go on like this never happened."

The guitarist said after he had calmed down and they all agreed, with all the drama their vocalist was put through, she didn't need this as well and hoped that everything was okay with her over at Sesshomaru's place.

**--Bar line not working--**

Four hours later Kagome opened her eyes with a raging headache; she looked around her surroundings and noticed that she was in her room. The miko groaned as she sat up in bed and rubbed her head to lessen the pain.

"Inu-Yasha…"

She probably scared him with her fainting, she was scared too; this rarely happened to her and when it did it was because of exhaustion, but this was so random, so out of the blue. She walked out of her room in all of the clothes she had worn and noticed that the light in Sesshomaru's study was on; she squinted her eyes from the brightness of the light and pushed the door open. The demon wasn't at his computer, but reclining on the blue couch in the corner. He was reading one of the books from the shelves when he heard her come in; he put the book down and sat up.

"You're up? Good; you gave my brother a real scare."

He said it indifferently, but there was a small part of him that was relieved to see her awake and looking a little livelier than when she was unconscious.

"Sorry. I don't know what happened, a freak accident probably, I'm fine now."

When she didn't leave he took off his glasses and set them down on the couch.

"Is there anything else or do you just enjoy taking up space?"

She snapped out of her daze and averted her eyes; she began getting nervous being under the constant stare of those piercing eyes. The miko shifted her weight and played with her hands.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

This definitely got his attention.

"For good?"

He said almost in joy and she made a face at him.

"No, of course not; you still owe me that apology. Anyway, it'll only be for two weeks." _I'm going to miss you…_

She said in her mind not daring to say it out loud even though she wanted nothing more than to scream it to the world. When he said nothing, she turned back around and left melancholy; the priestess wanted some form of response, wouldn't have minded if it was insulting or funny, just some acknowledgement that he was thinking about her leaving. He merely picked up his book and began reading where he left off, but through his peripheral vision he saw her he walk away and almost wanted to follow her, but he resisted the temptation by raising the book higher so she was literally out of sight.

"Goodnight."

She said quietly and left his room, stripped out of her clothes and into her PJs before climbing into the still warm blankets of her bed. _'Sesshomaru you jerk… why do you make these things so difficult?' _The miko grumbled and tried putting him out of her mind, but to no avail. She was tired, but the turmoil feelings she had clashing within her kept her from sleeping; Kagome curled up into a ball and just as she felt herself slipping into the world of her dreams she heard her door open and close. Without looking behind her she knew who it was, but what the hell was he doing in here? Her heart accelerated, she wasn't wearing any of her wraps or padding nor was she wearing any of her perfume.

"Kagome…"

He whispered her name and heat pooled deep within her stomach; he never said her name before… _never _it was only that one time and the way he said it sounded oh so seductive. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until she felt his weight on the bed.

"I'm going to miss you."

He cooed huskily in the shell of her ear, his warm breath fanning the soft skin on the back of her neck had her squirming beneath him. She turned to face him and gasped; they were so close, she could see her reflection in those beautiful golden eyes.

"Sess—"

She was cut of when soft, warm lips met her own and she felt the electricity crackling in the air. She was so focused on his kiss that she didn't notice his hand until it was half way up her shirt tracing lazy circles around her navel and she moaned with wanton abandon; she wanted that touch, no… _needed_ that touch. Her moan was cut short when his tongue delved deep within her mouth, coaxing hers, enticing hers to do the same and she couldn't refuse him, she could _never_ refuse him. Their tongues danced and battled for dominance; she had no idea where this feeling within her came from, but the last thing she wanted was for it to stop. Her mind went completely blink the only thing on her mind was to keep whatever was going on from stopping.

The hand that was mapping her skin slowly, tortuously undid each button of her shirt; it was too slow, she had to have that shirt off. He finished the buttons and she let the material slide off her arms and lay beneath her forgotten. She cried out when his hand grabbed her breast and she arched her back to get more; the demon massaged it, kneaded it, his claws scrapped lightly against the skin and sent shivers down her spine. He broke their intense kiss and she made a sound of protest when his hot mouth enclosed around her rose colored bud.

"Sesshomaru!"

She screamed, her hands instinctively circling his head pressing it deeper, further; this was too much and yet not enough. The miko was now almost bending backwards to get more of that sinfully skilled mouth as it made languid circles around her erect bud. She had almost forgotten his other hand until it reached down and cupped the juncture of her legs; another moaned escaped her lips and she was practically bucking against his hand. Oh how she wished these damn pants would just disappear so there would be nothing separating them.

"How does it feel little miko?"

Kagome whimpered helplessly; she felt like she was going to cry, not out of sadness or pain, but out of the pure and erotic feeling that arose from deep within her. She wanted more; there was no dousing the fire that her demon lit within her and he was nowhere close to stopping. The priestess pulled at his shirt, she wanted it off him. It was in her way. She got her wish as the silk material slid off his shoulders and was thrown carelessly to the floor; they embraced skin to skin and it was the greatest feeling Kagome had ever experienced. Their lips met again with a new found passion and courage the singer never knew she had; they kissed as if they could never get enough and they wouldn't. She wanted to go further; something within her sprang loose and would not subside until her desire was granted.

"Please…"

She didn't know why she was begging, she was too caught up in the moment to care and to assert her plea she pressed her hips into his and felt him come alive within the material of his pants. He didn't wait to be told twice as he slipped his hand beneath her clothing and pulled it down the length of her legs. Her legs turned to jello as she felt his hand glide across the exposed skin; he broke their kiss and she was about to pull him back when he began kissing down her neck, nipping her skin here and there leaving telltale marks of his foreplay. His tongue licked its way across her collarbone to the valley between her breasts and went even lower; his touch left invisible marks as he continued his way south. Her feminine core throbbed with desire and ached to be touched; she sucked in her breath as he reached her heat, but did not touch it. He was torturing her, kissing the soft skin her inner thighs, scraping his teeth up and down her thigh, stopping right before her core before going in another direction.

"Please Sesshomaru…"

She pleaded again, her voice nothing more than a hoarse whispered; this need was slamming into her and she was helpless to fight it. The singer could feel him smirk against her skin.

"Please what little miko?"

She shuddered at the sound of her new nickname she was almost to the point of crying with desire; Kagome didn't want to say it, but she was beyond caring, beyond all logic, the demon had stolen her sanity with their first kiss.

"Enter me!"

She demanded and in the blink of an eye his tongue slipped between her womanly folds and entered what had craved for his attention most. She moaned her back aching off the bed as she bucked senselessly against his mouth, but he effortlessly held her down.

"Se-Se-Sesshomaru…"

She panted and fisted the sheets below her, nothing could compare to the state she was in, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as white dots were littered across her vision, she mewled under his ministrations. She tried to move beneath him, but he pinned her with his strong arm. His tongue glided in and out, making sensual circles that drove her over the edge. His left hand reached up and grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers and she gripped him tightly; this was probably the most affectionate thing he had done by far. He continued this torture and every time his tongue slid in she felt a coil deep inside become tighter and tighter.

"Cum for me little miko."

He whispered and the air slammed out of her lungs, brown eyes shot open, and her mouth let out a cry of pure passion. The coil that had built up within her snapped and she screamed his name to the heavens above; she shut her eyes and pushed up against him as a hot liquid poured from her heat. Suddenly she felt herself coming out of a fog, a haze of sorts, her head was dizzy.

"_You are a priestess, not a woman Kagome…"_

"Father?"

She whispered upon hearing his voice and she opened her eyes; the first thing she noticed was that she was alone, her body was curled up, and judging by the light coming through her window, it was around five o'clock in the morning.

"A dream?"

She asked herself and shifted position only to find that she had been clinging to her pillow so hard that there were crescent shaped imprints from her nails. When she removed her hands she saw that they were shaking, her skin was covered in cold sweat. Her body was stiff in the position she was in and she turned the other way, but in doing so she felt something different, with her hands still quivering she reached beneath the covers, under her pants and underwear where her hands got rather wet.

"This is…"

She pulled her hand back out and saw the moisture glistening on her fingertips and she blushed like crazy. Her heart raced as she looked around.

"Gotta wipe it off… gotta wipe it off."

She quickly cleaned off her hand using the under side of her pillow leaving behind a smudge and rested back down on it. She curled herself up into a ball her shaking hands wrapping around her legs as tears formed in her eyes. She didn't understand why she had that dream and she didn't understand why she was crying, perhaps she was scared of the dream, or maybe it was that sensual feeling being so suddenly cut off. She fearfully craned her head around to her closed door, was Sesshomaru awake, if so, she didn't feel she could see him, not after that. This silence beat at her louder than the band's music, the complete and utter loneliness that accompanied it only served to break her dam as she felt the first tear roll down her cheek. A dream… a dream, those words haunted her and made the tears worse knowing that the dream would never come to be.

"I can't believe it."

She muttered, angry at herself for crying over a stupid dream, no… it was much more important than that, but a stupid dream is all it's allowed to be, anything else and she would be breaking the sacred laws in her family. Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep she lay in the bed for a few more minutes until she was fed up with doing nothing and got up. Her bag sat at her door, a reminder that this was going to be her last morning here until the concert… good. She couldn't face Sesshomaru right now, not after that dream, she needed some time away from him to cool off, but why did her heart ache at the thought of leaving? It made her edgy, frustrated and she wanted to get rid of it.

She hastily dressed and walked out of her room and looked into the author's study, but for once it was empty, she walked down the long hallway, carefully peeked into the demon's room and saw him sleeping soundly. Without a second glance she silently ran on the balls of her feet down the hall and out the door; a cool gust of morning wind greeted her as she stepped outside and sent ice needles shooting up her bare feet. She shivered and quickly ran down a path leading to a useless, but fascinating room: the ancient armory and dojo. The miko opened the shoji doors, darkness surrounded her, it saddened her how forgotten this room looked; even its smell made it seem like these doors hadn't been opened in years. She stepped inside and raised her hand in front of her and the blue flames sent off eerie rays of light before shooting off her hand finding the candles hidden all around the dojo floor.

The room became illuminated by the blue light, burning on the old candles surrounding the edges of the room. Her hands caressed the weapons hanging on the walls and stopped when they touched a bokken; her heart lurched and ached for her father who she hadn't seen in so long. Carefully, Kagome removed the weapon from the wall she tested its weight and walked to the center of the tatami mats that were in the room she spun the staff around and crouched down into a fighting stance, focusing her energy, and releasing it in a blast of spiritual power. She leapt up and back flipped while striking behind her at an unseen opponent; she landed on her toes like a skilled cat.

"Hm… I'm a little rusty."

She noted and continued practicing; after a few minutes her moves became more graceful and flexible and her strikes were sharper, faster. She could almost hear her father's voice coaching her, instructing her and Kikyo sitting on the wall surrounded by herbs, flowers, and roots, mixing them together so when Kagome got hurt, she would be there to heal her wounds. This place even though it was surrounded by weapons, had a calming aura to it, when things got bad for her, she would often run away to places that made her feel like this; whether it would be a literal place or a safe place in her mind, she would blindly run to it.

"_Ow!"_

_Kagome cried as she hit the floor for the millionth time, she ground her teeth and beads of tears formed of the edges of her eyelids. She threw the bokken aside and curled up into a ball gripping her left arm as pain seared through her._

"_Kagome!"_

_Her older sister cried and ran up to her with the soothing balm ready, but her father held a hand up to stop her._

"_Wait; let's see what she does now."_

_He said and she did, looking at her younger sibling with concern. She couldn't disobey their father, so the older priestess bowed to him and sat back down behind him. _

"_I can't do it! It's too hard!"_

_The little miko cried as the tears finally spilled free out of frustration and pain. She didn't want to do this anymore, there was no way she could flip in the air with this weapon and not lose her balance, it was impossible, why did her father keep making her do it over and over again? She curled herself up tighter and retreated back into the safe place in her mind and just accepted her fate._

"_Is that it? Are you just going to give up Kagome?"_

_She turned to her father; her body was sore and covered with patches filled with Kikyo's healing concoctions. With her cheeks stained with tears she rolled over to her other side so she and her father were facing each other and she glared at him. _

"_Why do you make me do this over and over Otou-san? I'm no good! I'll never learn it!"_

_Her older sister was about to protest when that hand came up again and silenced her. _

"_What do we do when we fall down Kagome?"_

_He asked her and she puffed up her cheeks and turned her face away from him. _

"_We get up again."_

_She muttered and he nodded._

"_And what do we do if we fall again?"_

_She stubbornly remained silent and he rose to his feet and went over to her and sat down with his legs crossed. _

"_We get up again."_

_He answered for her. _

"_And again and again and again. And when we fall after that, we get up again. Do you know why Kagome?"_

_She shook her head and gasped when she felt herself being picked up and placed on her feet. She was a few inches taller than her father who was sitting down. She looked into his eyes and did not find anger for her disobedience to him, but understanding. _

"_It's not about how many times you fall, but how many times you get up; that's where true skill lies, in the determination of the human heart. So fall seven times Kagome, but stand up eight."_

She smiled at the memory, suddenly feeling so much better she placed the weapon back in its place and left the dojo and while she ran she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. As the phone rang, the priestess quickened her pace until she was sprinting.

"Inu-Yasha?"

She asked when the phone was picked up on the other end.

"Kagome? Hey, how are you feeling?"

She smiled at his concern.

"I'm fine now. I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

The half-demon looked at his clock; it was barely five thirty and shrugged his shoulders; hell, he was up why not? After all he did sleep _last_ night.

"Shoot."

"Would it be too much trouble for you to pick me up now?"

She asked timidly and he quirked an eyebrow.

"Okay, can I ask why?"

He wasn't supposed to pick her up until noon and Kagome requesting to leave his brother's place early was definitely news for him.

"Let's just say I'm tired of seeing him walk around like he's got a sword shoved up his ass."

She heard his distinctive laughter on the other end.

"I see. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

They said their good byes and hung up; the singer put her phone away, ran back to the house, and went inside. It was so hard to tell if Sesshomaru was awake or not on account of him being so damn silent. She quietly stalked her way to his room and poked her head inside to find him still asleep; her heart sped up at the sight of him. He looked so mature, but at the same time so innocent; for once he had a look of peace on his face, even when he was writing he seemed frustrated or stressed. The sleeves of his shirt were raised exposing the demonic magenta markings on his wrists as proof that he came from a pure demon lineage; the stripes too out against all the white silk of his bed.

Feelings rose up sharp and uncontrollable, feelings that had only appeared in her dream last night; she couldn't even be around him without them taunting her and she was forced to leave. She went back to her room and grabbed her bag, ready to leave the house when she stopped; it didn't feel right to just go without telling him good bye first, but she didn't want to wake him, not only was she fearful of his reaction, she was fearful of her own by just being in his presence. She reached into her drawer and pulled out a notepad and pen and scribbled a quick note on it, she made her bed and left it on her pillow. An impatient hand fished through her bag before it pulled out the desired object and attached it to the note.

"He probably doesn't care… but just in case."

She said quietly to herself making sure that both objects were together and in plain sight. After double checking everything in her room she left and began walking down the hall when something tugged at her to turn around; she couldn't resist whatever feeling was and that scared her more than anything. Her heart pounded as she neared the demon's room, she dropped her bag by the door and walked in. He looked so serene, so… amazing; her whole body throbbed to the beat her crazed heart. Her mind went blank as she absent mindedly recited an old spell.

"Soft wind whispers in you ear… sleep, sleep through the pain of the day. Your heart is lost and will be found in your dreams, so listen to what I say… sleep and to not rise until I'm nothing but a sweet memory of a time forgotten. Let the wind blow… let your mind go…"

Her voice was so beautiful, her power pure, he couldn't resist as he did what she requested and was sent into a deep sleep. Small hands trembled and were covered in a cold sweat as she neared his bed, before she knew it she was standing over him. Nervously she sat on the edge of the bed. What was she doing? Was she insane? No… these feelings within her were insane, but she couldn't resist them. _'I'll give in… just this once…' _She said to herself as she lowered her face to his; she stopped, her lips hovering right above his. Her lower abdomen clenched in anticipation as those sensual feelings swept her away, filling her every pore, every crevice.

"_You are a priestess Kagome, not a woman…"_

Tears welled up in her eyes as pain lurched at her heart; she shut her eyes tightly and her hands fisted the silk sheets tightly. She choked back a sob as sorrow radiated off her aura in mournful waves.

"_You are forbidden from falling in love, that is your fate, your destiny…"_

"You're wrong."

She whispered and separated the distance between them as her lips connected with his; they were so soft… so warm

just like they were in her dream, only this time it was real and it was better. She could smell the light scent of cigarettes and that alluring scent that belonged only to him. The heat pooled in her stomach again and she began to cry, not out of joy in her dreams, but out of pain. She cried for the love that could never be, her tears dotted his face and burned her eyes; she deepened the kiss and almost wished he was awake so he could kiss her back, but she knew she couldn't lest she give away her secret.

Now anger well up within her for the band that made it impossible for her to show the demon who she really was and at least express her feelings, at her father who forbade her from ever loving, at her family who scorned her for her relationship with Aki; she hated them! She hated them all! The singer gasped and pulled her lips away from his shocked and appalled at herself; where did this resentment come from? Why did she feel this way?

"Oh my God…"

She whispered and clasped a hand over her mouth as a new set of tears rolled down her cheeks. Her mind clicked and everything became clear, why she moved in with him, why she caught herself staring at him, why she had that dream.

"… I love you."

She whispered to him and cried at her realization; the miko embraced him, knowing this was the only time she ever could and confessed to him, knowing she never would be able to again. Their lips met again, but instead of the sorrowful one as it was before, this one was happier. As she kissed him, she felt the stress and the confusion of the emotions she had trapped within her be released… she now knew the reason behind her actions; she wasn't crazy… she loved him. Pleasure swept through her, wrapping her in a cocoon of sensations she couldn't break free from; the coil within her abdomen tightened and it felt so good, she wanted it tighter, wanted more, but knew she couldn't, for now this was all she could have. _'Wait a second… I fell for a demon, a smartass, a romantic novelist whose anything by romantic, and a pompous jerk…I __am__ crazy.'_

"Who said love at first sight doesn't exist?"

She asked him playfully and wiped away the tears on her face and his. She bent down to give him one more kiss when a pounding at the door caused her to jump; she gave an exasperated sigh. There is no way that was twenty minutes, but obviously it was because she heard the hanyou's yell all the way from the room. Suddenly feeling rather giddy she stood up and ran out the door and picked up her bag; there was a very peculiar blush on her cheeks as she poked her head back into his room and blew him a kiss and giggled like a school girl.

"See ya in two weeks!"

She said to him, of course he was still asleep, but that was the fun of it, she could say anything she wanted and he wouldn't have the slightest idea.

"You just wait Sesshomaru…"

She smirked evilly and when she heard the pounding at the door again and high tailed it down the hall and to the door.

"Inu-Yasha!"

She cried cheerfully and grabbed his hand pulling him towards the motorcycle that was parked outside the gates.

"Uh… Kagome?"

He had no choice but to allow himself to be dragged by her; she appeared normal, but the slight puffiness of her eyes and the salty scent he picked up told him other wise. If anything all, she seemed happier than usual; he could only wonder what had happened to cause such mood swings.

"Come on!"

She said urging him to go faster and she laughed like a little kid; the half-demon had no idea where this joy surged from, he felt it radiating off her aura in waves. He smiled, happy that whatever made her so carefree happened; a smirk appeared across his lips as he quickened his pace and passed her.

"Hurry up slow poke!"

He cried and sped up even more; she growled.

"Hey! No fair!"

She ran faster until they were toe to toe, but sadly they couldn't figure out who the winner was since they ran out of track when they reached the gates. They leapt up on the bike and drove away; she looked back and watched the house become smaller until it disappeared completely. _'Part of me hopes you find the note… but a part of me hopes you don't.' _The miko shrugged off the dread; she had more important things to worry about, like the concert which was the whole reason why she was leaving. They pulled up to the apartment; Inu-Yasha placed a finger to his lips in the universal sign of quiet, which meant that the guys were still asleep. They silently slipped inside and saw everyone was in bed which was a first, Koga and Shippo only slept once a week since they were demons, she figured that last night was the night.

She slipped into her room and found everything was exactly the way it was before she left; no one dared go into her room. She set her things down and collapsed on her bed, she was tired, but like the night before, she couldn't sleep. _'Please… take be back there… one more time…' _When it didn't happen the singer sighed in frustration; she got up and went out of her room and found the hanyou had gone back to sleep. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Jerk."

She muttered, the least he could do was keep her company; she contemplated throwing a shoe at him to wake him up, but decided not to and chose to unpack her stuff instead. As she pulled out her belongings she found a pencil entangled in her clothes.

"Huh?"

She picked up the mechanical pencil and looked it over.

"It's Sesshomaru's."

She wasn't entirely surprised, she had borrowed a lot of his stuff and he used this pencil a lot when he was writing up brainstorms for his next novels. She looked it over when an idea struck her; she quickly rummaged through her dresser and pulled out an old charm, tied the pencil to it, grabbed a hammer and a nail and ran out her door. She chose the wall that was on the opposite side of the front door; all was silent and peaceful until

'BANG! BANG! BANG!'

Five guys flew out of their beds all sustaining mild heart attacks and turning to the source of the racket to find Kagome nailing her new charm to the wall.

"Kagome?!"

They all cried in unison and she stopped and gave them a smile.

"Hi guys! I decided to come back early and I was going to let you sleep in when I got this stroke of genius. So I decided that you five have had enough sleep and you're going to participate in my experiment."

They all exchanged glances, rubbing the sleeping sand out of their eyes, yawning, and stretching. The band gave exasperated sighs and sunk back into the comforts of their warms beds when the banging continued.

"Kagome! Did that little episode of yours go to your head or what? Can't this wait until the sun is up?"

Inu-Yasha spoke for the whole band as they gave tired groans of approval, pulling the covers over their heads.

"I'm fine and no it can't wait, we have to do it now while the idea is still fresh in my mind!"

They all pulled the covers back and eyed her like she was crazy; she placed down her hammer down on the floor, put her hands together, bowed her head with eyes closed, and began praying, reciting the universal sound.

"Ohm… Ohm…"

Over and over again and the band raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ohm… oh mighty pencil, please lend us your powers… Ohm…"

Okay, they all agreed Kagome had officially lost it; now they had to decide which one of them was going to have to tell it to her. Without thinking twice they all ganged up on Shippo and were prepared to throw him at her feet to speak to her, when she suddenly turned around.

"You guys have to pray too."

"Huh?"

They all said at the same time and released their hold on the young demon; the miko furiously nodded her head.

"If we want this to work we all have to ask for the pencil's blessing."

Koga rolled his eyes and plopped back into bed.

"I'm not prayin' to some dumb pencil."

He stated and he suddenly felt a significant rise in the temperature; he turned around and saw the terror inducing blue flames of Kagome's purification. They swore flames shot out of her eyes as she glared at them.

"_Pray to it NOW!"_

She screamed and they all shot out of their beds, pajamas, bed-hair, and all over to the charm. The males clasped their hands in prayer, bowed their heads with eyes closed, and began reciting along with their singer.

"Ohm…"

Six voices all rang out at once, in perfect harmony, perfect unison.

"Ohm…"

She wanted to laugh, but something came to her mind; a small melody at first, then formed into a composition, even lyrics popped into her head. She honed in on them as she felt the music sway within her.

"You wait, wanting this world to let you in…"

The band all stopped the chant and stared at her; she had not moved from her spot, she didn't even know they had stopped praying as she continued her song. As the last chords died away she opened her eyes and turned around to find everyone in the band was staring at her with mouths hanging open and eyes unblinking.

"Kagome, that was amazing! Where did you come up with that?"

Aki cried and Miroku ran back to his bed, reached under it, pulling out a box filled with blank sheet music and quickly scribbled down the main melody before it escaped him. He had a knack for hearing something once and being able to figure out the notes, but he had to do it immediately; on the sides he wrote down the lyrics. Everyone else was still frozen in place and their vocalist shrugged her shoulders at them.

"I don't know, it just came to me."

The guitarist looked back at their keyboard player as he rose up several sheets filled with hastily written chords, melodies, and messy lyrics along the side; he waved the music back and forth.

"I got it!"

They all sighed in relief and gathered around the musician, peering over his shoulder and looking over the music; they had their rough draft, now they just had to perfect it. As they prepared to go to the studio Kagome made them breakfast, but it felt strange, she had become so accustomed to Sesshomaru cooking for her, she almost didn't know what to do. Thankfully though she watched him make some of the meals and the ingredients were all available to her; the guys watched with keen interest as she began pulling out food from every nook and cranny. Twenty minutes later a mouth watering aroma caught their noses and they blindly followed the scent; they hovered over her and when she turned away from the food, they would grab a small bite of it. Their eyes rolled back at the wonderful taste.

"Who knew I could cook?"

She smiled cheekily and when she placed the steaming pots of food on the dinner table they all raced to their seats and loaded their plates up with the delicacies.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?"

Miroku asked with a mouth full of food; a faint blushed stained her cheeks as she turned away from embarrassment.

"Sesshomaru. He's such a wonderful cook; this is one of my favorite recipes he made."

At the sound of the demon's name, Shippo, Aki, and Inu-Yasha suddenly got a very sour taste in their mouth; they almost went green with envy, here she goes again, running her mouth off about the author.

"His food is so diverse, he knows a lot of French, Italian, and Mexican dishes that look so exquisite. He—"

"Kagome!"

Shippo said exasperatedly, cutting her off; she looked down at him and he quickly composed himself.

"You haven't said much about your family lately. How are they?"

Another subject she never stopped talking about was her family; she spoke of them so often, her family felt like _their_ family now. At the mention of her clan she began going off of extravagant tales of them. Aki and Inu-Yasha both silently thanked the kitsune for changing the subject so they could actually eat, but the food wasn't the same anymore knowing that she got it from that demon. They left the apartment after finishing the dishes; the singer decided to take a ride with the guitarist and everyone else went the same ways they always did. They arrived at the studio and were surprised to find it almost empty, but when they look up at the clock they found it was barely seven in the morning, nobody in the music business ever worked this early.

"I've never heard this place be so quiet. It's eerie."

Kagome commented as they made their way up to the twenty-third floor; when they got up to their studio they were quick to set up and begin practice, it had already been decided that the song their vocalist created note one hour ago was going to be in the concert and that was suicide within itself, to write a song and get it down in two weeks is one thing, to perfect it and then perform it was a whole other can of worms. They worked for hours until their door was blow away by plastic explosives; they rolled their eyes in annoyance and waited for the dust to settle.

"Mr. K! Could you have at least warned us?! We have all our equipment out and we just paid for that door!"

But as usual the band's complaints went in one ear and out the other with their manager; instead of listening he chose to polish one of his many hand guns. The others looked on with mild interest.

"You're not dead yet?"

Miroku asked disappointed while organizing a few chords on his keyboard; the blonde smirked.

"I'm an American, we're like the Ebola virus, once you get us we won't go away even when you're dead."

Aki quirked an eyebrow.

"A strange analogy, but so very true."

He stated and they all agreed Americans were like terminal illnesses, when you got one, you can't rid of 'em. They put up his ranting for a few minutes until he left to go run his mouth off at Mr. Tohma; they were about to return to practice when their stomachs protested and only then did they realize they hadn't eaten in hours.

"Whose turn is it to go get food?"

Miroku asked rubbing his empty stomach.

"Mine."

Kagome answered and when the empty organ made another protest she punched it.

"Shut up already! I know you're empty!"

Her face scrunched slightly, she had hit herself a bit too hard, but it took her mind off her stomach.

"I'll be back in an hour."

She said grabbing the money all the band guys forked over, waved good-bye, and walked out of the studio. When she stepped out of the building, she went temporarily blind from the strong contrast of staying in a dark studio to going out at midday, but she didn't need her sight to find lunch, there was a ramen shop that her family always went to and had some of the best noodles around. The Higurashi clan got a discount since her father and a few other priests exercised an evil spirit out of the shop, needless to say the shop owners were very grateful. It didn't take long for her to arrive. The cook greeted her as she walked in, Mr. Sasaki, he was a very kind man; she knew him since she was a little kid and he watched her grow up, he always gave her a few Pocky sticks when ever she came to visit and always listened to her raving adventures about being a priestess and how amazing her father was.

"I was wondering if I could order six bowls of ramen and two pots of green tea."

She did as much as she could to hide her identity by keeping her head bowed and lowering her voice; she wanted so much to talk to Mr. Sasaki, but she knew she couldn't, there was no way she could explain herself if he found out.

"Coming right up."

He said with a smile and went about to make her order, the cook looked up at her for a moment and looked down, realization dawned on him and he snapped his head back up and she quickly turned her head away pretending to look at the people standing out the window.

"Do I know you?"

He asked and she turned around as much as she dared.

"I don't think so; perhaps you are mistaken."

He looked her over from behind and went back to the noodles unconvinced. She took a seat facing away from him and began fuming her fingers in impatience; she was very uneasy, every minute she spent in there was another minute for him to realize who she was. A few minutes passed and she heard the bell chimes coming from someone opening the door; the miko looked up and paled, quickly she turned her face away. _'Hell no… it can't be…'_

"Ah Tsubaki Higurashi! How nice it is to see you. How are things back at the main house?"

The miko was on the borderline of going into full panic mode; it was her great-aunt Tsubaki, the prude of the family who never liked her or Kikyo. The priestess had some fairly by-the-book family members, but old Tsubaki practically _wrote _the damn book. The older woman walked into the shop in her priestess robes, no surprise, she once made Kikyo cry because she caught the young woman walking across the shrine in her high school uniform; God forbid you ever show your legs to that woman. The miko may have hated and despised her aunt, but she had to hand it to the old hag, she knew her stuff, which was why she was worried. She could be as blind as a bat, but still be able to who you are judging by the aura you gave off; and the singer had a particularly strong aura.

"Everything's fine."

She replied curtly, obviously not wanting to have a conversation with the elder man, but Mr. Sasaki would never deter; he kept asking her questions to keep the conversation going and he always asked the right ones, the ones she couldn't avoid answering.

"Your order's ready."

He said to the Bad Luck member and she groaned inwardly and pretended not to hear; there was no way she could sneak past her aunt, the hag was right next to her food. The old miko turned and looked at her and she immediately dropped her spiritual aura, the woman's eyes narrowed, contemplating just who it was that had such a dangerous aura.

"Excuse me sir, your order is ready."

The cook said a little louder and Kagome knew she couldn't ignore him now; vocalist reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a baseball cap, slipping it over her head making sure to cover her face as much as possible. Tsubaki was still staring; the band mate swore that woman could see right through her clothes she was glaring so much. She quickly walked up to the counter and slammed the money on the table and grabbed the bags of ramen; she whirled around and high-tailed it out of there.

"Young man!"

Her aunt called out. Shit! She knew something was up, she ran out of the store and looked back to find the woman chasing her, she panicked and ran top speed into the middle of a crowded area and lost sight of her relative until she spotted the old woman feeling around for her spiritual energy; if her aunt caught on she was as good as dead. Although Tsubaki had not spotted her, she knew the boy was in the crowd somewhere, trying to mask his aura which seemed strangely familiar.

"This ought to find the pest."

She said and reached into her robes, taking out a very specific sutra, designed to lock on to strong spiritual power and then zap the person of all their strength for a few moments. The sutras were used to subdue the spiritualists in their family that had taken one too many wrong turns and were a potential threat. She placed the paper between her middle and forefinger and wrapped her other hand around it; her bowed her head with eyes closed in concentration.

"Hya!"

A shock wave was sent out through the ground, but unless someone had spiritual power, they would not have felt it; a few people felt a little tired all of the sudden, but the boy she saw would have dropped to the floor by her move, there was no way he couldn't have been severely affected. Kagome buckled under the sudden attack, a few people stared at her, but no one offered to help her. She pitifully crawled away into a back alley and behind a garbage can.

"And my family wonders why I don't visit them anymore."

She muttered, but quickly shut up when she saw the woman walk past the ally, pausing and then moving on. She breathed a sigh of relief and hung out by the garbage until the effects of the sutra had worn off. As she began walking back to the studio, people around her were giving her disgusted looks and turning away with hands over their noses; curious she sniffed her clothes and grimaced. Gross! She smelled like week old garbage; the miko pulled her perfume and started spraying herself like crazy. She ran the rest of the way to Tohma Studios knowing the amount of time that had passed; the singer burst through the door and everyone gave either a sigh of relief of annoyance.

"Bout time you got here."

Inu-Yasha said as everyone crowded around her; they snatched up the bags, ripping away the plastic to get to the sealed containers filled with ramen goodness. The hanyou was especially happy with her decision as he dove into the bowl while everyone else ate with a little more modesty. Time passed and the band all dragged their tired feet home; it was dark, cold, and quiet. Everyone murmured 'good nights' and went off to sleep, but once again Kagome found it hard to get to sleep. She tossed and turned, hugging her pillow; she couldn't stop thinking got her note and if would he heed to her request she wrote on it. Frustrated, the vocalist got from her bed and walked out of her room.

"Kagome?"

She turned around and saw Shippo reading in the dark and was about to tell him to turn on a light when she remember demons had terrific night vision.

"Hey Shippo."

She said with a mixture of aggravation and exhaustion walking to the window, propping her elbows up on it and resting her chin in her hands. Concerned, the fox demon put his book away and joined her at the window.

"Is something wrong Okaa-san (Mother)?"

She laughed.

"I'm not exactly 'mother' material Shippo."

He gave her a child-like smile.

"Of course you are Okaa-san! You're nice, caring, funny, understanding…"

"Wasn't the woman who raised you at the foster home all those things?"

He shook his head solemnly.

"No. There were so many of us, she could never focus her attention on one, that wouldn't have been fair; because she couldn't be nice to everyone, she had to be mean to us all."

She looked out the window guilty.

"I'm sorry I asked, I didn't know."

He shook his head and waved an uncaring hand

"It's fine, because now we have you Okaa-san."

She smiled and playfully ruffled his hair.

"Why can't I be your ane-ue (elder sister)?"

The fox took her hand away and gave her his childish smile again.

"Older sisters are mean and bossy; you're not like that. I have no memories of my real mother, but I'd like think she was a lot like you."

He wrapped his arms around hers and snuggled up against her shoulder; he really was nothing but a kid. Alright, if he wanted a mom, she'll try her best to be one for him. She felt a lot better having the kitsune with her, even though he was raised in all the wrong places, he still had an innocent aura to him. They stayed there for a while, not saying anything, just looking out the window and enjoying the other's company. Shippo didn't realize Kagome had fallen asleep until her head was resting on his, her breathing long and relaxed and her grip on his arm became limp and fell to her side. With his demon strength he carried her to her room and gently placed her on the bed; the fox tucked her in and straightened up.

"Good night… Okaa-san."

He closed the door behind him, crawled into his bed, and closed his eyes to see if he could sleep for a few hours.

"You should have listened to her when she offered to be your ane-ue."

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard Koga speak; he growled and threw the covers over his head.

"Save it."

He muttered, his voice slightly muffled from his mouth being covered by a pillow; the wolf growled.

"I know it's none of my business, but don't get too carried away with that 'Okaa-san' crap. You'll only wind up hurting her."

He clawed at the blankets, the fox wanted to prove him wrong, but somewhere deep down inside, he knew the demon was right.

**--Bar line not working--**

It was well into the night when Sesshomaru woke up, he felt like he was coming out of a hypnotic spell; he heard her voice again, the voice of the woman who had danced in his garden two months ago. Only this time the voice that sent him to sleep felt so melancholy, so forlorn. He sniffed around and caught a faint salt scent; he felt his face and found a thin layer of salt residue on it. The woman had been in his house, in his room, and managed to put him to sleep; he growled that someone would dare come in to his territory. He got out of bed and stormed out of his room when another scent caught his nose; he froze and turned towards Kagome's room. He stepped inside, noting how it was empty and her bag was gone.

"Left already?"

He felt himself being compelled to find that scent, he had to find it, there was no way around it; golden eyes fell upon the pillow. He picked it up and was hit with wave of that smell; need slammed into him faster than the bullet train, his pants suddenly became rather constricting as his demon instinct got the best of him. Demon lust turned his eyes a blood red, lengthened his fangs to lethal points, and made his claws sharper than daggers; his hand came up and he rammed the heel of his hand against his forehead. He had to get back in control, there was no way he was going to lose himself to this; the demon staggered away, still clutching the pillow. Two small pieces of paper fell off it and landed innocently on the ground; still struggling to get himself under control he picked up the two pieces of paper.

_Sesshomaru,_

_Sorry I left without saying good-bye; I've just been real busy with the band. Our first concert day is set; it's at Zepp Tokyo in exactly two weeks. I saved a ticket for you._

_-Kagome_

He looked at the concert ticket with its intricate design; his eyes narrowed.

"Useless garbage."

He muttered and threw both papers on the bed, turning away, and leaving the room without further preamble. He couldn't stay in that room, it reeked of the scent that drove him crazy; eyes returned to their normal color as claws and fangs retracted. The dog let out a sigh of relief; that was close, who knew that smell would bring out such a reaction from him. That aphrodisiac, he smelled it only once before, but it was no where near as potent. The phone ringing snapped him out of his stupor; with a growl of annoyance he snatched up the phone.

"What?!"

He barked into the receiver and he heard a small chuckle.

"Nice to hear you haven't changed Sesshomaru."

He blinked a couple times and rolled his eyes.

"Mika, what are you doing calling me at this time of night?"

There was another moment of laughter on the other end.

"If I recall, you only sleep once every ten days; did I wake you?"

She asked playfully and that brought out a growl from him.

"State the nature of you call."

"Look out your front door window."

On the way to the door he grabbed another cigarette and lit it, taking a deep inhale and left the smoke exhale slowly. He did as she asked and saw no other than Mika outside the door; she put her cell phone away and smiled at him. The demon opened the door and she walked in; everything she did was done silently and elegantly, from the way she stepped in the door to the way she looked over her shoulder to catch his eye. She was nothing short of beautiful, her body slim and flawless with porcelain skin, light brown hair, and shocking amber eyes.

"How's your husband doing?"

He asked, flicking a few ashes off his cigarette into an ash tray; the demoness sighed and the points of her fangs flashed before him. Claws dug into her purse and she set it down on the dinner table.

"Busy."

He couldn't help but notice the skin tight and flashy little skirt and blouse she had on giving him no doubts of what her breasts looked like; she was always buying the finer things in life, of course she had the money to, she ran her own multi-billion dollar international corporation. He offered a cigarette to her and she took it and he lit it for her.

"I'm supposed to be quitting, this is such a filthy habit."

She took a long drag, the smoke helping to calm her nerves.

"True, but it doesn't affect us like it does for humans. Just being in the smoke's presence is dangerous enough for them."

She looked around his living room while taking another drag.

"You've made some changes."

She commented and the demon shrugged and looked at her when he noticed that her attention was diverted to a pair of shoes sitting by the front door; they were way too small to belong to the author. She picked then up and sniffed them, but didn't catch a scent; the demoness turned accusingly to him.

"Are you with someone already?"

He shook his head, taking the shoes out of her hand and tossing them back onto the floor.

"Nope; I've been alone for a while now."

She looked away.

"I see."

The demoness rose to her feet, put out the spent cigarette, and looked up at his golden eyes with a saddened longing.

"I've missed you Sesshomaru."

She whispered and embraced him; his torso felt so familiar, so comforting; his scent was the same as it was when he left her and as usual when she embraced him, he did not hug her back, but merely place an arm around her waist.

"Is there something you need?"

He asked and she pulled away so they could look up at each other.

"I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while."

He looked off down the hall towards the brat's room; such perfect timing that Kagome would choose to leave tonight right as Mika came over.

"Sure."

The demoness was about to thank him when he broke her embrace and walked down the hall. She followed him, they went past the singer's room and she froze, turning her head towards it; the demon looked back as he saw her walk in. He squeezed his eyes shut; damn it, he knew he had forgotten to do something. He followed her and made sure not to breathe in through his nose lest that scent take over him once again.

"There's some one living here isn't there? Is this the same person that owns those shoes?"

She noted how there wasn't a feminine article in this room, but the aphrodisiac that filled the room undoubtedly belonged to a woman.

"You missed him by half a day."

The demoness whipped her head around shocked, but she quickly collected herself.

"Oh really; I didn't know your preferences could change so drastically."

He looked away lighting himself another cancer stick, he inhaled the smoke hoping it would cover up what had driven him over the edge.

"There's a spare room down the hall."

He said, but she knew the underlying reason for him to say that; the author wanted her out of the singer's room. She didn't heed to it before, but she was definitely sensing a very protective streak about the demon when it came to the brat that was now living with him.

"What's his name?"

She questioned, becoming rather suspicious; the author knew of her desire to protect him, if she felt that Kagome was a threat to him in anyway, the singer was as good as dead. Of course, he didn't care.

"Kagome Higurashi."

**--Bar line not working--**

Before the Bad Luck member could blink her eyes, a week had gone by and the band was in full panic mode; the vocalist was in the same boat as everyone else, using up every ounce of strength she had to get the concert ready, but at the same time she caught herself looking out the window or off into space thinking about what the demon author was doing. After seven days she thought she was going to go nuts, so she devised a plan to go see him; it was lunch time again and her turn to go pick up the food.

"Hey Inu-Yasha, can I borrow your bike? The take out place I want to go to is a little bit of a distance from here."

He shrugged his shoulders and tossed her the keys and helmet.

"Fine, but if you get one scratch on it, you'll be singing a very different tune."

She gave him her most confident smile and waved good-bye to them before running off to the parking lot. She hopped on his motorcycle, revived it up, and sped away to Sesshomaru's house. _'I guess I'll be seeing you sooner than I thought…' _It didn't take long to get to his place; she stood in front of the gates and looked at the house in the distance and suddenly the anxiety that had built up, left her. The miko entered the code and the iron gates opened for her; she ran in the moment there was enough space for her to fit through and made a mad dash down the path. When she arrived at his door, she heard a woman yelling; thinking it was the TV, she paid no heed to it until the door opened and a very angry demoness stormed out and bumped right into her. Their eyes met and the miko froze.

"Who are you?"

Mika asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

"Ah Kagome, there you are."

Both women snapped their heads to the door as Sesshomaru stepped out and went straight for the priestess; the female demon's eyes widened.

"This is Kagome?! He's nothing but a boy!"

She cried accusingly as the author walked behind the singer and wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and his left around her waist; she practically melted at his touch, her body went weak on her.

"I know, but that's what makes him so cute. Isn't that right Kagome?"

He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck and when the demoness looked away he gave her his scariest face yet.

"Say one word and I will kill you."

He whispered dangerously in her ear; his eyes promising death, and if that didn't convince her, his grip on her tightened to the point of pain. She let out a small 'eep' and nodded furiously in understanding. When Mika looked back his face became so angelic she swore there was a halo circling the crown on his head.

"Is he more important to you than I am?"

She asked and he looked back up at her with cruel eyes.

"He is."

He said bluntly, a ripple of pain reflected in her eyes, she growled and turned away.

"Sesshomaru, you fool."

She muttered and walked away; once she was a good distance from them she leapt up into the air and sprinted across the trees, until she was out of sight. Convinced that Mika was gone, the author released her and she suddenly felt so bereft.

"You hurt her feelings."

The vocalist said solemnly and he shrugged it off.

"Probably."

Kagome whipped around and glared at him.

"You didn't have to be so mean about it!"

He didn't respond, but chose instead to turn away and walk back to the house. The miko chased after him and followed the demon back into the house.

"Who was she?"

He looked out the window where the demoness disappeared.

"My sister, Mika Tohma."

He answered and her mouth fell open in shock, but before she could say anything, he spoke up again.

"Why did you come back? Did you miss me that much?"

He said it playfully, but he was right on the money and she didn't want to admit it. He sneered and lit another cancer stick.

"Or is because you wanted to see if I was going to your concert and listen to your crappy love song?"

She growled and picked up a glass ash tray and threw it at his head; in the blink of an eye he caught it and threw it right back. The tray barely touched her cheek as it whizzed past her, shattering into a million tiny fragments on the wall. The miko froze as he slowly made his way towards her.

"Don't start things you can't handle."

The demon warned her using the voice that made her hair stand on edge.

"I didn't start anything."

She said defiantly feeling herself being backed into a corner; she huffed and walked to the door.

"I have no idea why I came here in the first place."

She opened the door and walked out; he followed her to the doorway and stood there, watching her leave.

"If you're not going to come to concert at least watch the last song on TV."

She muttered bitterly and ran down the path, got on the bike and drove off; the demon's eyes narrowed, he wanted to follow her, but refrained from doing so. The writer went back inside his home and mulled over what she said.

"The last song huh?"

**--Bar line not working--**

Three days until the concert, everything began to come together for Bad Luck; they actually moved their practice from the studio to Zepp Tokyo where the concert was to take place. Kagome's eyes scanned the empty seats imagining them being filled with all the people that are to come; there were no seat on the ground floor, only the balcony on the second story. Ground floor could hold up to five thousand people while the balcony could hold another thousand. Six thousand people… that was a considerably larger amount than her usual crowd.

"Hey Kagome, you still with us?"

Koga cried and she snapped out of her daydream; she laughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry I—"

'CRASH!'

The wall to their right was blow away as a red Ferrari raced through the wreckage and went straight for the band; they all screamed at the top of their lungs and jumped out of the way as it screeched to a halt. There was a moment of silence as the dust settled and the door opened; long slender legs stepped out followed by the rest of a very attractive looking figure. The singer gasped, _'It's Sesshomaru's sister!' _Mika looked around until she spotted Kagome separated from the rest of the band, by the edge of the stage.

"You."

She said pointing at the vocalist.

"You're coming with me."

Before anyone could open their mouth, she leapt over to the miko, grabbed her by the arm, and threw her into the passenger seat. Shippo was the first to recover.

"Hey you can't just take our singer like that!"

The demoness growled, showing a off a mouth full of fangs.

"What was that?"

The fox paled and scampered behind Koga; she huffed and got back into the car.

"I'll return him by sunset."

She said and slammed her foot on the gas pedal and the guys had to jump out of the way as she droved through the hole she made. All stared at the hole in the all with equal shocked faces and hoping that when the demoness said they'd bring their singer back, she would be alive.

"Martini please."

Mika said as she stepped into the jazz bar which she had previously cleared out so the two of them could be alone; the bartender nodded his head with a smiled and set about to make her drink.

"Sorry about renting out the whole place."

She said to the man, but he shook his head.

"It's no problem, you're my highest paying customer, there's no way I could turn down a request from you."

The demoness smiled and thanked the man for the drink before he disappeared into the kitchen; the miko looked around, the place was no where near fancy or high-end, it was simple, but it was calming with light jazz playing, pictures and records of many styles of music. The two women sat at the bar in silence.

"So how long have you been living at my brother's place?"

The female demon asked, she sounded disinterested, but there was an air of dishonesty about her. Fully recovered from her kidnapping, the vocalist counted off the time she had spent at the writer's place.

"Four months, one week, three days, and thirteen hours."

She answered very sure of herself and the business woman who had been stirring her drink, stopped.

"That long? With a kid like you, a boy even."

The priestess huffed, folded her arms and turned away.

"Well, sorry!"

She spat and the female demon took a sip from her glass.

"I never said you did anything wrong."

There was another long moment of silence as the demoness drained the last of her drink.

"I'm surprised; my brother never let another person stay for more than a week."

Kagome looked down at the table guiltily; Sesshomaru had a choice with those other women and he had thrown them all out, but the only way she could get in was through blackmail and he had no choice other than to let her stay. Was she just a nuisance to him? Was she in the way?

"Here."

The demoness placed a plain paper envelope on the bar and slid it over to the singer. She opened it and her eyes nearly popped out of her sockets. There must have been twenty 1,000,000 yen bricks in the envelope; she looked over at Mika who wore a very serious face.

"Consider that a down payment."

The miko looked down at the money again.

"For what?"

Suddenly she became very fearful.

"I need you to do me a favor."

**--Bar line not working--**

Kagome could hear the screaming of the crowd behind the curtains, she peeked through the fabric and saw a sea of heads and eyes; the place was completely filled, apparently their performance of the game show was more of a hit than anyone thought. She looked back at her band as they all prepared themselves to go up on stage; this was their first concert and it was huge. She peered at the crowd again looking for him, the miko told herself not to expect anything from him, but there was still a glimmer of hope that he had decided to come. As the curtains parted the guys looked over at their singer who gave them a cheesy smile and two thumbs up before stage lights lit them up. The audience went nuts with a barrage of screaming and cheering.

"Hello Tokyo!"

She miko cried and the crowd's screams was amplified and while the cries were stilled sounding, the band struck up their first song and there was an instant silence. Her voice was mesmerizing, grabbing the people and holding them captive with her spell; there was no other sound like it in the world, no other form of music and the audience could only stand in silence or dance to the beat as her voice poured out what they wanted hear, saying what they could never admit: that love exists somewhere. Every song was an absolute hit, not one word or one note was wasted; as the show went on the miko began to sway and eventually danced to her own music; she was that into it. The vocalist looked out to the crowd, reaching her hands out to them in invitation to join her, a flash of silver caught her eye and her heart skipped a beat. _'Sesshomaru!' _She cried in her mind, but to her dismay, it was nothing but a reflection of someone's silver watch; the miko pulled the microphone away from her mouth so no one could hear.

"That's right… he's not coming."

The band looked at her as the last chords of the song died, she looked so dejected, so hurt, but they could only guess why. As happy as she usually was when she spotlight flashed down upon her, now it made her feel so alone because there was no one there to share the light with her. She looked down, about ready to cry when something, or should she say _someone_ caught her eye; golden eyes in the back of the room pierced right through her brown ones and she stood there like a deer in the headlights. The sudden halt in the concert had the crowd murmuring to one another and the band behind her could only look on as Kagome stared helplessly into those shocking eyes.

"You came…"

She whispered and there was a buzz of excitement as everyone looked around, trying to find who the singer was talking about. The demon's eyes narrowed at her statement; he made sure to stay out of the light as curious concert goers searched for him. None of the Bad Luck guys dared go near her because that would signal to everyone that there was a problem and they did want to cause a scene. Right as Shippo left his place to go talk to her she snapped out of her daze and flashed her biggest smile. The Bad Luck girl wiped the sweat from her brow and looked on into the audience, purposely avoiding one particular set of eyes.

"We thank you all for coming; this means so much to us. The concert was supposed to end with the song we just sang for you, but two weeks ago we had come up with one more song. At first we weren't going to play it, but now we believe that it wouldn't be right to keep it from you."

As the crowd cheered she looked back at Shippo and gave him a nod of approval; he quickly switched discs and began playing the song soon followed by Aki on guitar. On the contrary to the electrifying songs before, this one had a more laid back and calming melody. Kagome chose now to look straight into his eyes; she wasn't going to turn away from them, not this time. They locked gazes, her lips parted and a sweet voice escaped her lips.

"You wait, wanting this world to let you in

And you stand there a frozen light in dark and empty streets.

And you smile hiding behind a God-given face

And I know you're so much more, everything they ignore is all I need to see."

She dazzled them, they didn't come for slow songs, but they were sure to make this one the exception. Everyone held their breath as they were moved almost to tears when there was a sudden explosion of sound as they entered the chorus.

"And you're the only one I ever believed in.

The answer that could never be found the moment you decided to let love in.

And now I'm banging on the door of an angel.

The end of fear is where we begin, the moment we decided to let love in."

The music was so moving, so unique and she was so confident looking into the eyes of the demon as the chorus died down again. She dared the writer to turn away from her, to break the spell she was casting. This song was for him and she would make sure her point was clear by the time to last chords ended.

"I wish, wishing for you to find your way.

And I'll hold on for all you need, that's all we need to say.

And I'll take you chances, while you take your time with this game you play.

But I can't control your soul, you need to let me know

You leaving or you gonna stay?"

Her voice climaxed into the chorus as the band burst into life with sound; they had never felt this energy from Kagome before. It was as if she had been reborn. Gold eyes narrowed at her words, he could feel a pull at his heart and it almost made him step forward; what was it about her that had him so drawn?

"And you're the only one I ever believed in.

The answer that could never be found the moment you decided to let love in.

And now I'm banging on the door of an angel.

The end of fear is where we begin the moment we decided to let love in."

A tear rolled down her cheek, no one but the demon saw it. Why would she of all people be crying at a time like this? Why did it feel like this song laid everything she was bare to him? He could only ponder as he looked up at her, studying her, but at the same time, he wanted to wipe away that tear and he didn't want to know why. She let the tear fall, a symbol of what she truly felt and how much she really cared, but she couldn't allow more than that, it could only be the one, anymore and she would scare the crowd and the band. She let the music carry her away, to a place where there was only the two of them, everyone else just faded away into the background.

"There's nothing we can do about the things we have to do without.

The only way to see again is let love in.

You wait wanting this world to let you in."

A second tear fell and then another; she tried to stop them, but they came from the depths of her very soul. Her soul cried out to him through her voice, caressed him with melody lines and perfect harmonies; he could almost feel her hands reaching out and touching his face, sliding across his skin. Why did this song sound like a… dare he say it… _confession_?

"You're the only one I ever believed in."

_I can trust in no one else…_

"The answer that could never be found the moment you decided to let love in."

_Please let me in, that's all I ask…_

"And now I'm banging on the door of an angel."

_Because I already met the devil…_

"The end of fear is where we begin."

_I'm not scared anymore. I'll tell you all you want to know…_

"The moment we decided to let love in. The moment we decided to let love in."

_Let me in…_

As the last of the chords died, the audience went off like a series of fire crackers that wouldn't fade away. The band guys joined their singer at the front of the stage and all took a bow before exiting off stage; once in private they all huddled around her asking if she was okay and what the source of her tears were.

"I'm fine… I'm just so happy that's all."

**--Bar line not working--**

Silver moonlight filled the living room and splashed across two bodies as they stood in the middle. Sesshomaru reached his hand up and wiped the newly shed tears from her eyes. Her heart sped up at his touch as heat pooled deep within her abdomen; she closed her eyes as his hand caressed her cheek when it dropped back down to his side. She opened them and looked up at him confused.

"Why did you come?"

She asked, he was silent like he was before; the quiet that surrounded them in the house pounded at her, she needed some form of noise, she didn't like the silence.

"You asked me didn't you?"

He put out his cigarette; nothing about him was confident or smug, he was all serious. Her heart raced as he closed the distance between them, she backed away and he followed her until she was up against the wall. The priestess was trapped, she looked down at the wall and then up at him; he was close, just like in her dream. His right hand came up and cupped her cheeks and she blushed, his touch felt so sensual even though he wasn't doing anything.

"Indeed why did I come?"

He asked more to himself than to her; she couldn't escape his gaze, those eyes trapped hers, froze her body, and made her crazy. He shrugged, the demon didn't care about it anymore, he couldn't keep it to himself anymore, couldn't stand it.

"Oh well…"

He whispered as he lowered his head and captured her lips with his. She gasped and felt her legs fail her, but he wrapped his warms around her and kept her standing; the coil within her tightened again, the desire within her was released and raged within her. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer; his grip around her waist tightened as he pulled her in, their bodies collided and sparks flew at the connection. The singer moaned and went in for more when he felt him pull away. A smirk graced his lips, flashing very dangerous fangs, dazed and very confused she could only stare into those gold orbs.

"I know your secret, little miko."

**Oooooohhh cliffy! Sorry, I decided to be evil today. Hehe, power of the pen rulz!**

**Sorry, fanfiction is being a bitch again, it didn't save some of the changes I made and you've probably noticed more than your fair share of grammar mistakes. **

**I'm actually proud of myself for finishing this so fast, not to mention that it's my longest yet. I was actually going to update this sooner, but I went to Fanime Con during the weekend so I was set back a while. **

**Song: Let Love In by Goo Goo Dolls.**

**I was going to hold out on Sesshomaru finding out, but I couldn't do it there was so much I wanted to do to them with Kagome's secret out in the open. **

**Thanks for reading! Till next time! Review please! **

**-Love's Essence**


	4. Lover

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha. This story is partially based on the anime series Gravitation**

**Gravitation**

Chapter 4: Lover

Her heart pounded out of control, in an instant everything crashed down upon her. He knew! What happened?! Where did she go wrong?!

"Wh-what gave me away?"

That sinful smirk was still on his lips.

"You can cut your hair, wear baggy clothes, hide your scent, and even censor that aura of yours, but your blood is something you can not change."

He lowered his head and nuzzled the crook of her neck; need slammed into her, she couldn't stop herself from reaching her hands up and circling them around his neck, pulling him in.

"Your blood was _very_ feminine. There was no hiding it."

He whispered in her ear and she whimpered; the miko pressed her body closer, but he pulled away. Their eyes met and her body failed her, those eyes, she couldn't escape them when they were so close, when he was so close. She was at his mercy and he knew it; he had seen that same look in the eyes of many women, but there was something more to her gaze. She looked at him as if she wanted more than just his body, something else burned in her eyes.

"You are very quiet little miko."

She shiver ran down her spine at the sound of her nick name. Damn it, why did his voice have to sound so… sensual. He lowered his head until their lips were but a millimeter apart; her legs chose that moment to give way and she fell back onto the wall, but he caught her and drew her into the safety and strength of his arms.

"You're not getting away that easily."

He said, sounding very sure of himself, in truth he was all but in complete control; trapped in his arms, her legs useless, hands helpless to do anything but hold him, she was at his mercy. He dove back in a second time and captured her lips; it took her a moment to realize he was kissing her. It was soft, not demanding or controlling, but the moment she pushed back, he pushed back harder. He pressed her up against the wall, his body flush against hers, helping her stand upright; his knee wedged itself between her legs forcing them apart so he could feel her heat on his thigh. All thought was erased from her mind, all worries, all problems, until there was only him, only his touch.

"Sesshomaru…"

His name fell off her lips like one of her sweet melodies and he felt his heart jump at her voice; he had had enough of the PG stuff, he wanted something a little more satisfying. Hands found to hem of her shirt and he impatiently pushed it up exposing her wrapped torso and padding.

"Seems like an awful lot of work for one secret."

He teased; his hand caressed the skin that was covered by the wraps and she began to pull at them, wanting them off. She still couldn't speak, her throat was tight and her mind was blank; he had called back something she had forgotten long ago that robbed her of her senses. The only thing that was left for her to think about, were his skilled hands and how her clothes were getting in the way.

"Off. I want them off."

She said tugging at the stretchy material and the foam padding; he wasn't one to turn down her demand as claws tore away the constricting items. Flawless tanned skin graced his presence and he drank the sight with his demon eyes, there was only one thing obstructing his perfect view: a single wrap tied tightly across her breasts. Small hands gripped him tightly as his fingers danced across her skin, torturing her with their erotic ballet. His mouth found hers again and the flame within her grew, it burned away everything except the need for more; more of his touch, his kiss… more of _him_. It felt so good, she felt the tears burning her eyes; this wasn't just lust or need, this was obsession, an insatiable addiction that would never have the proper fix.

"What do you want little miko?"

She shivered from the sensual voice that spilled from his lips; her hips involuntarily pressed against his and he pushed her back down. He knew the answer, he saw it in her eyes from the day he healed her wounds and even the day they first met, he knew, but he wanted to hear her say it. Their eyes met and time slowed down; he stopped his sweet torture, waiting patiently for an answer. Her eyes, glazed over with desire bore deeply into his until she saw her reflection in them; those cold eyes hid many things inside them and she wanted to know them all, she wanted to know what made him laugh, what made him cry… what made him happy. Her right hand came up and caressed the side of his face, an action she never would have done had it not been for this fire that threatened to consume her.

"You."

She answered; her voice concealing nothing, everything she felt, everything she was laid bare to him with just one word. His heart pounded out of control, only for a moment, but it was that one moment where he doubted himself; he believed himself to be a demon with no feelings left in him, but this small woman with her loud mouth and caring eyes had his legs feeling weak. She knew it in her heart, she could kiss no ones lips but his, she would touch no one but him, and she would love no one but him. He had gotten his answer, but did nothing, only staring. A tiny ounce of courage welled up in her and she smirked.

"You got your answer Sesshomaru so what are you waiting for, an invitation?"

He snapped out of his stupor and all at once his domineering side was back.

"Bold words for someone who was keening only moments ago."

He whispered seductively and that small bit of bravery fled her as he attacked her neck, leaving his marks wherever he went, fangs bit lightly into her flesh, not enough to cause pain, but just enough to leave an indent and even a hickey. The look on her face was priceless, her head tilted back to offer more of herself to him, eyes rolling back, lips parted as she dragged air into her lungs. Her hands fisted his hair, the silken threads tangled in her fingers as she pulled him lower.

"My, my; aren't we the needy one?"

He teased and she pushed up against him, her sanity had long ago abandoned her, she was now a human vessel for this obsession, the furnace for a fire that felt so good. The miko was so consumed she forgot to breathe and was forcing herself to remember to take in air.

"It's all your fault I'm like this; I want to make you happy."

Her voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper and she cried out when his hot mouth enclosed around her bud, she cursed the single wrap that was still around her breasts. Frustrated that he hadn't removed it, she futilely pulled at it, but she had the knot tied tightly; the young woman growled, but all movement from her stopped when the demon pulled away, rested his hand in between her valley and gripped the stretchy material. He felt her heart pounding; the pulse caused her whole body to shake from it. Golden eyes broke the intense contact they had with the chocolate brown ones as they looked down at the hand that began to tear away the last wrap around her chest. He pulled it down at an agonizingly slow pace; every inch of skin exposed, he kissed, nipped, and sucked until he felt the texture of uneven skin. He pulled away and looked down; with his demon eyesight he was able to see a deep scar right over her left breast where her heart resided.

"Where did you get this?"

His hand caressed the roughened skin and Kagome gave him a confused look before taking a shaky hand and feeling the scar with her own fingers. Confusion was etched into her face as she ran her fingers across it; the scar was shaped like a disfigured star, like something very sharp had stabbed her and the star shape came from when the skin was torn.

"I don't remember… I got it from… no it was an accident… but it wasn't…"

His eyes furrowed in confusion, she wasn't making any sense; she looked off into the distance, her eyes told him that she was in another world. Pain was carved into her expression as one hand came up and clutched the scar while the other drove the heel of her hand into her forehead. The priestess clamped her eyes shut as voices filled her head, flooding her senses, they caused her pain, but she knew that beyond the pain was something important. The demon watched her intently and the lines on her brow increased; he pulled his hands away, figuring out from her body language that she didn't want to be touched. The voices in her head grew louder and so did the pain; she felt tears forming around the brims of her eyes.

"_It wasn't supposed to turn out this way…"_

It was her own voice; she never remembered saying anything like that. Kagome felt like shards of glass were piercing her skull, but still the voices did not stop. Just a little longer, she could see the memory begin to clear, the voices suddenly took the forms of people she knew. People in black surrounded by snow, someone's picture inside a shrine built over a freshly dug grave; the picture may have not been clear, but the sorrow she felt from the memory resounded clearly and tore at her heart. The pain in her heart was too much, she felt like she wanted to die, with all of her being she wanted to put an end to her suffering.

"_I'm sorry…"_

"_Kagome NO!"_

"Aki…"

She whispered and everything went black; her body went limp and she began to fall, but the demon caught her. She looked exactly as she did when his incompetent brother brought her in two weeks ago, all color was drained from her face, a cold sweat covered her skin, and that pain stricken expression marred her beautiful face.

"I guess even a priestess has one or two inner demons."

When she didn't respond he picked her up bridal style, carried her to her room and set her gently in the bed. Her face was much calmer now, the pain seemed to have faded away; with a damp washcloth he wiped the sweat from her face. Still very confused he sat on her bed peering down at her, waiting for those chocolate eyes to open. When they didn't a hand came up and cupped the side of her face, out of instinct she leaned into it, somehow knowing it was him. She looked so beautiful, so innocent and she just admitted that she wanted him; he knew what would happen if he touched her, he knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't resist.

He climbed on top of her and kissed her perfect tanned skin; hands caressed her, tracing every curve, mapping every inch of her, but when he came up to look into her eyes, they were closed. She had not woken up and those sounds that came from her in the living room would not be repeated this night; he could easily take her, but he didn't play dirty. He had done many things to many women and demonesses, but never without their consent; this seemed wrong even to his defiled conscience. As he pulled away from her he felt the very strong urge to take her and make her his; the temptation was too strong. He felt his fangs and claws lengthen, eyes bled a vibrant red, and his demonic aura seeped out of him. The demon bent down to take her blood, his fangs lightly brushed against the soft, exposed skin just above her collarbone when the last thread of his morals brought him back up again.

"Damn it!"

He hissed and threw himself off the bed; a feral cry came out of his mouth as he made his way towards the bathroom. Every fiber in his being told him to turn around and claim her, but if he did that, she would surely die, he was a demon, he may still be young in some ways, but he was very strong. If he slept with her in the condition he was in now and she passed out and unable to deny him, there's no telling what he would do. He stumbled into the bathroom and climbed into the shower; the author turned the water on and ran it at an ice cold temperature in his clothes and all. Once the freezing water hit him, he felt himself get back in control; the claws and fangs retracted to their normal size and his eyes went back to their original golden color. The desire to take her was still there, but it had been significantly reduced; he kept his head under the water until he was positive that he could go back into her room and not try anything… it took longer than expected.

"Damn it!"

He cried out again and punched the tile, the ceramic that was supposed to be able to stand up to a demon's wrath cracked and fell apart. He slowly pulled his hand away, the skin on his knuckles had torn, but right before his eyes, the skin healed and looked as if it had never been hurt. He laughed pitifully, the story of his life; he had been hurt and he tricked everyone into thinking that he was fine. Everyone but one.

"_I want to make you happy."_

She said that and he couldn't understand it, he said nothing about himself, yet those chocolate eyes looked right through him and saw his walls, protecting him, it was almost as if she knew there was no happiness left in him. He turned off the water and walked out of the bathroom soaking wet; the writer stepped into her room and saw her sleeping soundly with a peaceful look on her face. The sight of her was almost too much with the way her shirt was pushed up and only that small strip of clothing was covering her chest. He let out a small sigh, walked up to her, pulled the shirt back over her torso, and tucked her in the covers. There was only one other person he had ever shown such courtesy to; he snorted at the thought.

"You look nothing like her; why do I even bother?"

His crude humor was short lived as he stared down at her head poking out from the fluffy covers; a clawed hand reached out and cupped the side of her face once again as voices from the past filled the empty room.

"_The mobs are growing Sesshomaru, your parents both died from them; as you aunt and new guardian I've decided that for your safety I'm going to send you to America. The people there are much more accepting of demons than Japan is; I feel that you should stay there until things calm down here."_

"_Hi I'm Yuki. It's great to finally meet someone who's from Japan like I am. Even though you're a demon, if you need any help, the school council has entrusted me to help you. I've also been put in charge of teaching you English; so I hope you like the sound of my voice because you're going to hear it a lot."_

Her smiling face was burned into his mind; he could never get it out and that voice, so sweet and innocent, there was no other like it.

"Yuki…"

"_Yes Sesshomaru?"_

He smiled ruefully.

"… how long has it been since I last saw your smile?"

"_My smile will always be on my face if that makes you happy."_

Her voice echoed in his mind, taunting him with a past he dared not go back to. His heart painfully lurched every second he stared down at the sleeping woman below him; it was too dangerous for her to be around any longer. Sesshomaru turned away from Kagome and straightened himself up; eyes scanned her room until he found her suitcase, he picked it up and began grabbing her things.

* * *

Kagome opened her eyes to bright beams of sunlight shining through her window; it took her a moment to realize that she was in her room with another headache. This was her second episode, first time people believe to be a freak accident, but a second time? She couldn't deny it anymore, something was seriously wrong with her; she'll check it out with Aki when she goes back in for practice. She sat up in bed and stretched her stiff body, the miko rose to her feet and went to the mirror to get all of her wraps and padding in place. Her shirt fell to the floor and she could only stare at all the markings that littered her body and realization dawned on her. 

"He knows! Oh my God what have I done?!"

Her heart pounded out of control as memories of the previous night flashed through her mind; she suddenly felt his caress all over her and she hugged herself, her whole body shook. He had her one wrap away from being topless! Oh God and it felt _so_ good it almost brought tears to her eyes; her heart pounded so hard she thought it was going to burst. Trembling hands dug nails into her skin; eyes helplessly looked around for something to sustain her sanity. She found that something when she looked out the window and saw clouds from the south coming; there was going to be storm tonight. She always loved the rain, it felt so refreshing and rejuvenating, but it also gave her more than one illness.

"They say that the rain can wash away all sin."

She mused and decided tonight, she'll dance in the rain. A friend once told her that she must dance at least once a day in order to stay sane. No matter what mood she was in, dance to what she was feeling; whether she's frustrated, heartbroken, or overjoyed, just dance. It can cleanse the mind if only for a few moments, lose herself in the music and no matter how she dances, just dance as if she'll never dance again. The singer did that once before on Sesshomaru's pond and she really felt a lot better even though he caught her; at least now she doesn't have to hide herself. As she dressed herself in the clothes she had on the night before, not noticing that all of her other belongings were packed away.

The priestess shyly stepped out of her room; this was the first day in four months that she was walking around without her wraps, padding, or perfume. She almost felt naked, but then again last night she almost was naked; a blush crept up and her cheeks. She forced air in and out of her lungs at a slow pace when her body wanted nothing more than to hyperventilate. Her feet froze half way down the hall, the priestess had to gather up her courage and walked into the open with her head held high, but when she stepped into the kitchen, the demon was not there.

"Sesshomaru?"

She called out, but no answer, the miko poked her head around the living room, his study and room, even the bathroom, but he was nowhere to be found. She sent out a tiny wave of her power to locate him, but even her "radar" couldn't pick him up; he wasn't in the house or the surrounding grounds. It was strange, but at the same time, she always left early in the morning and was gone until late at night. She had no idea what he did when she wasn't around; the miko shrugged her shoulders and plopped herself on the couch. This was the band's one day off and she was going to spend it by being a total couch potato.

"… _but even with all the violence and death, your novel is a love story is it not?"_

Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull when she saw him on the TV; so this was where he was. The woman next to him was a very well known reporter; she was one of the few whom Sesshomaru allowed an interview. The priestess saw his trademark smirk on the screen when he heard the reporter's question.

"_People can interpret my books any way they please. If you want it to be a love story, then it's a love story."_

The woman chuckled a bit.

"_Come now, even the amazing Takahashi must admit that the bond between the two main characters is the most important aspect of the book. Love conquers all, does it not?"_

She flipped through the pages of the novel.

"_No it doesn't; out of all the emotions love is truly the weakest."_

Her eyebrows rose at this.

"_Oh really? Am I to take it that Sesshomaru Takahashi doesn't believe in love?"_

The demon smirked and looked at her; Kagome held her breath waiting for his answer.

"_You're smarter than I first took you for."_

She felt like a huge stone was dropped in her stomach; quivering hands clutched a pillow and brought it up to her chest. It only took one sentence to have her world come crashing down, she could only stare helplessly at him hoping that she had heard wrong. He was lying, he _had_ to be lying. The reporter flipped through the book again and read a few passages.

"_Critics say that your style seems to have changed over the past two and a half months; I may not be an expert, but even I can detect a slight variation in your writing. Care to elaborate?"_

Her heart sped up; two and a half months? That was around the time she first moved in to his place; a small glimmer of hope had her heart pounding in anticipation. There was no way she could influence him; she shook her head to rid herself of such naïve thoughts. Even though she was denying it, with all her heart, she wanted to hear him say that she had influenced somehow. She looked up and saw the demon pause for a moment, those golden eyes bored straight into the camera as if he knew she was watching.

"_There has been a minute alteration in my living arrangements, but it is being properly dealt with and once that is done, my writing will resume its usual course."_

'Properly dealt with'? What did he mean by that? She was in denial; the miko didn't want to admit it, but the demon wanted her out from the start and he was going to. A stinging pain filled her heart and made her sick; he wouldn't… not after last night. Would he? That smirk on the screen taunted her and she threw the pillow at his face before turning the TV off. She curled up into a ball on the couch, her hands caressing the marks that he left on her skin; the miko could still fell his hands on her, touching her in places that had never seen the light of day. An involuntary shiver ran up and down her spine as she recalled his skilled hands.

"He's not even here and he gets me riled up."

She muttered and stifled a yawn; the miko was tired and that was very strange to her since she had slept the night before. The need to sleep had come so strong, somewhere deep within the maze of her mind, there was a locked door and her dreams seemed to bring her closer to it. The priestess didn't even know she had fallen into her subconscious world as everything around her fell away where darkness resounded.

"_It's not fair Otou-san!"_

_Kagome cried at her father who was seated across the table; the Higurashi family always held their most important discussions at the dinner table. Thirteen year old Kikyo and eight year old Kagome did not take the news they just heard lightly, but it was the younger sibling who voiced her resentment. _

"_I want a family too! I want to have sons and daughters of my own to train!"_

_Their father sighed; he knew he should have had this discussion when his girls were younger, but he didn't have the heart to tell them until now. He would always give them subtle hints, he knew his eight year old wouldn't understand, but judging by his eldest reaction, she figured it out long ago. His wife who sat beside him looked down at the table unable to look her children in the eye, she knew what she had gotten herself into when she married her husband, but it still hurt when her children were this upset and were being denied the one thing everyone wants most of all: someone to love. _

"_You have a family with us Kagome; we may not always be here, but we are family and when you're older you can train Souta's children."_

_She stamped her foot on the wooden floor below._

"_No! I don't want to train __Souta's__ kids I want to train __my __kids! Like you do with us Otou-san!"_

_He shook his head. _

"_It can not be done. Whether you like it or not you are a part of the Higurashi family and as such you will follow the sacred laws given to us by our ancestors to prevent past mistakes."_

_They all knew what he was talking about._

"_But Otou-san…"_

_Everyone one looked to Kikyo as she spoke for the first time since the conversation started._

"… _why does this law even matter now? The Sacred Jewel of Four Souls is already back in this world; that was the whole reason why the Higurashi women were forbidden to have a family, yet the Jewel is in the main house being purified and the law is still in effect. Why?"_

_She repeated allowing some of her resentment to leak out of her voice. The priest wished that question had not been asked; he obviously underestimated the intelligence of his teenager. _

"_Although the women in our family are not allowed to have children or husbands is considered a sacred law, since the Jewel was brought back to the world of the living, this law now stands more as a very important tradition that allows our young and beautiful priestesses to stay priestesses. When you marry, the woman becomes a part of the man's family, giving up her own for him; if so choose love over family and tradition you will no longer be a priestess."_

_The young girl sucked in her breath; she couldn't imagine any other life than the one she was living. She could never give up being a miko; it was who she was, what defined her. _

"_What do you want to be? A priestess or a woman?"_

_The sisters looked at each other and without saying a word they both knew who they wanted to be. To the young girl, boys still had cooties, they were icky, and called girls sissies; as a woman it wouldn't be "proper" to beat them up, but as a miko she could knock them out cold and wouldn't get in trouble because they had disrespected her and she was in a position of high respect and if it wasn't upheld, then she could deliver any punishment. The siblings looked back at her parents and at the same time said_

"_Priestess."_

_Their father smiled and so did their mother, but a part of the woman suddenly felt a deep sadness for her daughters who will never experience the joys of having children, of raising them, teaching them, being loved by them. No mother wanted to deny her children something extremely important and that made this especially hard for her. She had many fights with her husband over their daughters; the couple had come from two separate families with polar opposite ideals. She remembered how she pleaded with her husband to allow Kikyo to attend a public school instead of being home schooled like the rest of the Higurashi girls were; so that her oldest child would have some form of normalcy and interact with others outside of the family. He allowed it, but was reprimanded by the head of the family._

"_You've made a very wise decision girls and I'm proud of you."_

_He rose to his feet which meant the discussion was over and they were allowed to leave; Kikyo went back up to her room to finish her homework while Kagome ran out the door with a very bitter expression. As she stomped through the kitchen door the young miko bumped into someone. She jumped, her eyes shooting up to see the person's face, but gave a sigh of annoyance when she saw who it was._

"_Oh, it's just you Old Hag."_

_She muttered and Tsubaki's face contorted, deepening the frown lines around her mouth. _

"_Why you ungrateful child! How dare you treat me with such disrespect!"_

_The girl gave a very unladylike snort; the childish frustration and anger from the conversation she just had needed to find a vent and since she never liked her great-aunt, she was going to take it out on her._

"_Oh save it you mean old lady!"_

_The girl struck a nerve in the older woman; she wanted to strike the girl and raised her hand to do so, but the child back flipped and landed on the bookcase high above. She decided to use her words instead. _

"_I heard the argument in the kitchen."_

_She said smugly and the girl made a face at her._

"_Eavesdropper."_

_She spat and the old witch continued._

"_Out of all the Higurashi girls I've trained, you are the weakest. Maybe not in power, but in the mind. To fight with you father because you can't marry is absurd! Love is the worst thing to fight for because it doesn't exist!"_

_Anger swirled in the miko's eyes._

"_You're wrong! It does exist! You don't believe in it because you're a sad, old prune face!"_

_The older priestess growled and flared out her spiritual power._

"_You take that back right now!"_

_She cried and made her way to the bookcase where Kagome was just out of reach; the miko jumped over her great-aunt and made her way to the door, but before she left she turned around and stuck her tongue out._

"_Make me Prune Face!"_

_She sprinted out the door soon followed by the old miko. _

"_Get back here!"_

_She wheezed and the girl looked back.  
_

"_Make me! Make me!"_

_She taunted and laughed while running through the gardens, leaping across ponds with ease; she looked back to see her aunt had stopped running. Tsubaki had grown tired of it so she resorted to her sutras; withered old hands reached into her sleeves and pulled out a very special sutra and placed her hands in the proper positions. Just as the little miko jumped over a pond the priestess executed the attack._

"_Hya!"_

_A shock wave was sent through the ground and air; the moment it reached Kagome she felt all her power being zapped from her body and she fell like a rock into the middle of a mossy pond. There was a huge 'splash' as her body hit the water, waves crashed up against the sides, some of it sloshed onto the miko's feet as she walked to the edge of the pond. Before even bothering to help her niece out of the water, she placed the sutra on the girl's forehead to keep her strength from returning. An unkind, wrinkled old hand fished the priestess out of the water like a wet and dirty towel, dragging her by the back of her shirt to the steps leading to one of the many homes in the Higurashi main house. She dropped the child onto the wooden planks, her body, limp and unresponsive flopped onto the steps and began falling down until those cold hands gripped her shoulders and roughly yanked her up into a sitting position. Her head rolled on her shoulders, not even having enough strength to hold it up. _

"_Look at me. I am not so kind when it comes to dealing with little brats; I don't care if you're Kagami's daughter, you father isn't here and I __know__ you are not going to breathe a word of this."_

_The witch hissed and yanked her head so they were looking at each other eye to eye; cruel dulled eyes stared into the vibrant and defiant ones possessed by her niece. _

"_You are to remember what you said to your father, now you are to repeat it to me: I am a priestess, not a woman."_

_She saw instant anger in the girl's eyes and her grip tightened so that fingernails were digging into soft skin. When she got no response she gave a repugnant look._

"_Your voice is not paralyzed unlike the rest of your body; now say it."_

_She saw tears of rage build up and the rebellious glint in her eye grew._

"_No."_

_She spat out._

"_Then I will keep you here, helpless and powerless while I deliver a punishment that you've never had before."_

_Her voice shook with conviction and even at this age Kagome knew that there was a time to fight and a time to submit, but with every fiber of her being she despised it, despised the woman that was cruel to her and her sister for no reason other than jealousy. _

"_I am a…"_

_She began using her most defiant voice possible and she saw an immediate change in her aunt; the old woman's eyes glinted with triumph as a smirked formed on aged lips._

"… _priestess, not a…"_

_Her voice gave way, she couldn't bring herself to say it; it was one word, one simple, innocent, common word yet the open she opened her mouth to speak it, her vocal chords constricted and ceased all further talk._

"_Not a what, Kagome?"_

_Her aunt whispered as satisfaction swelled within her, joy that she was finally able to get the upper-hand on her wayward niece. Rage, pure, un-tampered, unrestricted rage blazed in those chocolate eyes; she was seething with it and the older priestess felt her repulsion to say it. _

"… _woman."_

_She finished and a huge grin spread across Tsubaki's face._

"_Good. Now say it again, but this time with no gaps between the words."_

_The old wench felt the power fueled by the anger within the child build up inside the sutra, how a mere child was able to organize her spiritual energy within the chaos to the sutra she'll never know, but so long as the paper remained stuck to the girl's forehead, she wasn't going anywhere or doing anything._

"_I am a priestess, not a woman."_

_The witch let out a chuckle._

"_And you will do well to remember that."_

'SLAM!'

Kagome jolted awake, her reaction flew her off the couch and landed on the hard wood floor in a clumsy heap. She cursed and swore, slowly rising to her feet and turned to see the demon walk through the door a little surprised to see her, but the shock quickly disappeared and replaced with that all-knowing smirk.

"I see that the young woman has been fast asleep."

There was a pang in her heart by the tone of voice he chose when he said 'woman'. The pillow she had been gripping was on the floor and instead of dignifying his remark with a response she picked up the pillow and placed it among the others. The miko said nothing as she walked past him to try and head for her room when a strong hand reached out and gripped her arm, not hard enough the hurt, but she couldn't break free. He pulled her back.

"What? No good afternoon kiss?"

He teased and she blushed slightly as her anger grew; the singer shook off his hand and made her way to her room, when she paused and turned around.

"How could you say something like that?!"

He quirked an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

She reached for something to throw at him, but remembered she was in an empty hall and returned her hand to her side. In her anger she released some of her spiritual power and allowed it to coat her body as it took the form of blue flames.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about! How could you tell that woman that love doesn't exist?! And what do you mean I'm going to be 'properly dealt with'?! There's nothing you can do to me! I hold your social life and maybe even your actual life in the palm of my hand, if I so choose, I could go to any news station and tell them what you tried to do to me!"

She despised herself for stooping so low, but she was desperate, she didn't want to leave and she would even use her blackmail as a real threat if that's what it took. Gold eyes narrowed as they bore dangerously into hers.

"Doesn't that thick skull of yours comprehend that you're no longer in power? I know _your_ secret too and if you truly wish to use that bit of blackmail against me then I'll use mine as well. If you intend to take me down, then you're going with me."

The absolute truth, however cruel it was, showed through his voice; he would take her down without a second thought if that is what it took to get her out of his house. He felt sorrow leak into her powerful aura along with the stinging sense of betrayal; she took a step forward and then another until they were but a step apart. Instantly her entire body language changed from aggressive to passive. With her eyes shut tight she leapt up and wrapped her arms around him while her lips met his. The demon did not move a millimeter; with that same cold expression he looked on as if nothing was happening, only when she pulled away did he lower eyes to meet those filled with pain.

"Did last night mean nothing to you?! Was my kiss just as hollow to you as all those others you shared with women?!"

His smirk slowly returned.

"Granted your kiss may not have been hollow, but it certainly was not cheap."

Her eyes furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

He pulled away from her.

"How much did my sister pay you? I never had a chance to count all the 1,000,000 yen bricks. Was it ten? Twenty? She might have even gone up to thirty."

She shook her head and grabbed his shirt with her small hands.

"No! Wait! It's not what it looks like! I didn't want to take the money, but she insisted; she said it was going to help you!"

He scoffed and looked away, preparing to leave when she spoke up again.

"She wanted me to ask you…"

The writer turned back around; unable to look in his eyes, she turned away while reciting the exact words the demoness spoke to her that night in the bar.

"… how long will you keep her waiting?"

His eyes widened by only a small fraction, he had an idea of what it meant, but he had to make sure.

"Who is this '_her_'?"

The young woman shrugged her shoulders and looked at the floor.

"I don't know, she only gave me the money to ask you the question, she didn't attach an explanation. I didn't want to do it, but she wouldn't let me leave if I didn't accept the money."

He could sense no dishonesty in her, the miko was telling the truth, but he wished she wasn't; it would have been so much easier to kick her out if she was lying. He actually found the money thrown carelessly into the corner of the closet with a pile of dirty clothes on top of it; not exactly the ideal place to hide a small fortune such as that. It probably meant she planned on returning it and hid it there for the time being. The priestess backed away from him, her head bowed in shame; she no longer needed the yen, Inu-Yasha was funding nearly everything for the band with the Takahashi fortune.

"I didn't want it and I was planning on donating it, but then this happened."

She rubbed her arm as her aura dropped; now that she explained herself, she no longer felt the need to keep it up. When her eyes went back up to meet his, she saw that same look in his eye, nothing about them had changed. He shifted and pointed his finger to the hall behind him.

"There's the door. You'll find all of your belongings packed."

He saw her body jerk at his words, like what he said was an arrow piercing her deeply. She was feeling it again… this sorrow and anguish that took over her heart when she saw that memory, only this was fresh and very potent. _'Is this really how you want to go Kagome?' _She asked herself, asked her heart which only wanted to cry out in pain and do whatever it took to relieve it. _'At least walk out with some of your dignity preserved.' _She instantly straightened herself up and froze the tears that threatened to spill; all at once she had the demure of a strong and capable woman, very different from the person he saw begging not moments ago.

"Fine."

She said curtly; the miko sealed her aura so the demon couldn't sense what she was feeling and it worked, until she walked past him. Their arms brushed against each other's and Sesshomaru was hit with such a powerful wave of sadness, he felt as if someone had punched him in the gut, but quickly got over it when she didn't stop for him. He followed her out to the door and saw her survey her suitcases that sat by it; small hands grabbed them and opened the door. Thunder boomed and lighting forked the sky while sheets of rain poured on as it had for hours.

"May I ask you one simple question before I go?"

She turned up to him with those chocolate orbs; he smirked.

"You already did."

Hoping to lighten up the subject, he failed miserably and with a small sigh of annoyance he nodded his head in agreement.

"Why are you doing this?"

Her question didn't throw him off one bit; he pushed himself away from the doorway and the howling wind of the rainstorm.

"You blackmailed you way into my home and stayed here for over two months, you're annoying, a loud mouth, childish, and I recently found out that now you're a lair. Let me put this in words that you can understand…"

He turned and looked at her with his cruelest eyes; she recognized those, he used them to stare at Inu-Yasha with, at Mika when she left, at the paparazzi who tried to get under his skin. Never did she think he would look upon her with those eyes, they broke her heart as much as his next words did.

"… I don't like you."

Once again he saw her body jerk from the impact his words caused; she bit down hard on her lip and without saying or doing anymore, she ran out of his house and into the freezing rain. She wasn't going to let him see her cry, she wouldn't allow it. The priestess made it to the edge of the gate before she broke down; falling to her knees she wrapped her now fragile arms around a tree; it provided shelter from the rain with its thick leaves and strong trunk. Nails dug into the bark as tears burned her eyes worse than acid; she threw her head back and let out a cry that was muffled by the lightning. Tears ran freely, leaving streaked stains on both sides of her face; her spiritual power exploded and encased the woman in flames of anguish. The bluish light that reflected off her lit the whole area, no doubt the demon saw it, but if not he surely felt it.

"You may feel my pain, my tears, my sorrow, but I will _never_ allow you to see them again."

Kagome swore as she faced the house, the singer sensed his eyes on her, but knew that she would not be seen. She turned away from him and faced the tree that had sheltered her; focusing her power, she used her index finger to carve a message on the tree. The characters written on the trunk glowed with her spiritual aura; she stepped back and looked over her work before snatching up her items and ran back out into the rain. Her body glowed with power and she used it to jump over the locked gate and ran out into the night, ran to where she hoped she would be accepted, would be loved. A new pain coursed through her; she felt like she betrayed the trust of her band mates. She constantly reassured them that she had control of things, yet now she was running back to them and worst of all she was probably going to be crying like a baby.

She ran all the way to their apartment, it was a very long distance by foot, but she was no ordinary human. The rain was pouring just as it had, even though it was freezing and relentless, it gave her a bit of comfort knowing that someone or should she say some_thing_ was feeling just as sad as she was. Kagome walked into the parking lot, soaked all the way to the bone and shivering uncontrollably, clothes clung to her skin and every time she moved she felt the cold, wet clothing brush against her and served only to make her colder… she was so miserable. The singer choked back a sob as she walked to the front door and reached into her pocket for the key, but she couldn't bring herself to unlock the door. Beyond these mere inches of wood resides a warm bed and five people who cared about her, but she was so cold, so separated from their warmth, she felt as if she could never be warm again.

"Forgive me…"

She whispered already knowing what their reactions would be and how she would treat them; placing the key back in her pocket she knocked on the door, feeling that it was better to be invited in than to let herself in. Aki answered the door, he looked so happy, there was even a glint in his eye, but all that disappeared when he saw her standing at the front door.

"Kagome?"

He asked disbelievingly, this couldn't be her, this couldn't be their singer; this woman looked so saddened, so disillusioned. Their eyes met, she felt the heat of his body and the coldness within her shivered; she was shaking and still glowed with her spiritual aura. He had only seen her like this once before and this sight brought back so much that he had desperately tried to bury.

"Aki."

She whispered his name and broke down just like she knew she would; she flung her arms around his torso and sobbed pitifully in his chest, burying her face in his shirt. Immediately everyone was at the door and surrounded her as they made their way into the apartment. The band tried consoling her as best they could, but it only seemed to make her cry harder; the anguish and betrayal that rolled off her almost made them want to shed tears. Knowing that she did not want to be seen this way, they turned off the lights, only when the lightning flashed did they see her face and it was enough for to fill them with a blinding rage to go out and kill whoever did this to their precious Kagome. She felt so pathetic, never before had she ever felt this weak, this vulnerable; she hated it.

The five guys were at a loss, they weren't used to seeing the vocalist this way, so they didn't know what to do; they tried asking her questions, but her voice was constricted, she couldn't speak. They touched her skin and were taken aback by how cold her body was and instantly they ripped the blankets from their beds and wrapped her in them, but still she remained cold, it was as if her very core was frozen by her sadness. It took a good fifteen minutes before her sobs became muffled chokes and her river trickled down to a dried up creek. They all waited in anticipation to hear what had happened or if she would even tell them.

"Kagome-sama?"

Shippo cautiously approached her, not wanting to upset her again; she wiped the dried up tears from her face and turned to him. Beyond his sympathetic and caring actions anger boiled, rage was seething deep inside and threatened to spill.

"Who did this to you?"

He asked; they had not seen all of her belongings behind the closed front door where she dropped them; if they had, there would have been no reason to ask such a question. There was a slight twitch from her when she recalled the memory.

"Is it okay if I stay with you guys again?"

They all sucked in their breath; the band knew what she meant and their rage began to show in spite of trying their best to hide it.

"What did he do?!"

Inu-Yasha nearly howled; all around her the air grew thick with a mixture of very dangerous auras; they patiently stood by her, waiting for an answer, but it almost didn't matter now, seeing their singer like this was enough to want to kill the demon. She looked up at them and shook her head in horror and grabbed the half-demon's pant leg.

"What do you plan to do once you find out?!"

She challenged back and the guys were at a loss; she was defending him, after the pain he caused she was trying to protect him! She rose to her feet, but her legs were weak from the long and exhausting run and shook beneath the many blankets. She was them all make moves towards the door, she had to say something, had to do something to get them to stop, get them to stay.

"Before you go out there I want you to know something. Sesshomaru didn't exactly invite me to stay in his home… I blackmailed my way in to get back at what he did when we first met."

If their rage wasn't dampened, at least she took their minds off it with her confession; they were surprised to say the least that she would do such a thing.

"He didn't know I was a woman so he had nothing on me and I did, he didn't have any choice. Sesshomaru didn't like me, I knew that from the beginning, so when he found out I was a woman—"

"He knows?!"

Koga interrupted, but quickly shut up. His words only voiced the shock that resided in all of them; silence resounded again as she continued.

"When he found out… he took advantage of it."

Her lower lip quivered and she wrapped her arms around herself, oh God even now she could feel him all over her and she hated the way her body cried out for only his touch. The band got mixed signals when she said "took advantage of it", but Aki was the closest, to be sure he grabbed her arm and took her to her room. He shut the door and locked so it was just the two of them. He gave her no warning as he set her down on the bed and tugged at the collar of her shirt, exposing the marks the author had left the night before.

The miko suddenly saw everything about him go very still; she quickly scrambled to cover herself up, but it was far too late, he knew and there were no words to describe the out rage he felt. Someone had touched her, took advantage of her feelings to cause her so much pain; nobody could do that to Kagome and live. He was dangerous now; the singer reached out and slipped her hand past his shirt and brought out the necklace he kept hidden from everyone.

"This needs another rejuvenating session, but not tonight, it can't be tonight. If you release it you don't know what you'll do. Please, stay here, we'll deal with it tomorrow, just don't do this."

She pleaded with him, her hand tightened over the smoothness of the crystal pendant, but he pulled away and not being strong enough to sustain a good grip, she let go. As quickly as he was in the room he was out of it; he yanked the door open and grabbed his jacket and the keys to his own motorcycle; the other guys became alert the moment they saw Aki storm out of their singer's room.

"I'm going for a ride."

He said and looked at them and the guys froze, they had never seen such anger, such blinding rage in the guitarist's eyes before; there were few times they saw him angry, but this was completely off the chart for him. The redhead never lost his cool like this before, but he didn't just loose his cool, he burned it.

"If any of you follow me, you will suffer such a fate that would have even iron stomachs cringing."

It was a pure threat that he swore with everything he had, everything he was and although they wanted to get their revenge as well, it would have to wait. They said nothing as they watched Aki walk through the door.

"Look after Kagome and don't let her follow either."

He warned before slamming the door, moments later they heard the loud screeching of tires slowly fade away; lightning struck the earth again and lit the dark apartment as the broken priestess slowly emerged from her room. She looked at them and noted who was missing.

"You two are really close aren't you?"

Miroku asked about her and the guitar player, she turned to him and nodded her head.

"We've known each other since we were five; Aki is like a brother in my family, the Higurashi's outside my immediately family accepted him even though his is a…"

* * *

Rain poured in icy sheets as the red haired player roared down streets; it seemed like an eternity before the gates to Sesshomaru's mansion came into view. The necklace hidden beneath his clothing glowed a fire red as his rage grew, what that necklace sealed was becoming harder to control. With an unnatural source of strength he leapt over the locked gates and walked down the long gravel driveway to the house. It took only a few minutes to get to the door, once there he rang the door bell; the band mate, shook his hands to get rid of the itching feeling of anticipation. He heard footsteps on the other side of the door and his whole body became alert, there was the clicking of the locks being undone and the turning of the doorknob. It opened and the demon stepped into the door frame; Aki clenched his fists and swung his right arm back.

"Who are y—"

The author didn't have time to react before the guitarist punched him right in his gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying to the far wall.

'CRASH!'

His body and the wall collided; there was a three foot deep crater where he hit it. Sesshomaru forced air through his lungs; demon eyes burned a blood red as he looked up at the intruder who dared do such a thing. A red glow caught his eye and he saw the teardrop shaped necklace shine with a great intensity, one that hurt to look at. He sniffed the air and recognized Kagome's scent, but this person who stood before him had a very strange mix to him. He was human, yet not human and then it hit him.

"Half-demon."

He spat out and Aki took a step back out of shock, before sniffing his clothing and realizing that the rain had washed away the spray he used to hide his scent. He scoffed and cracked his knuckles.

"Doesn't really matter now does it? Half-demon or not I'm still going to make you suffer."

Sesshomaru grabbed both sides of the wall and pushed himself out of the hole; he winced slightly as he straightened himself up, but already he could feel his demon blood work to repair the internal bleeding Aki's punch had caused. As he was standing up he felt every fiber of his opponent come to life as he prepared himself for another attack. He sniffed the air to find out what specific breed of demon he came from, but remnants of the spray prevented him from doing so. He also sensed this half-demon was stronger than he first realized when he saw that inside the necklace was the kanji character for "seal" and was filled with the blood of a very powerful spiritualist.

It wasn't uncommon for children of one human parent and one demon parent to masquerade as humans, hiding their demonic aura or completely sealing it away. There are plastic surgeons now that specialize in removing demonic features that are otherwise impossible to hide. Certain dyes can change any exotic eye color into the normal brown, acid eats away at the claws and fangs to reduce them to the harmless image of human teeth and nails, and a special kind of tattoo ink is used to cover the demon markings; all that pain and suffering for what they deem as normalcy.

"Is that so? If that one punch was your best, and judging by how much you exerted in it, it probably is, I want no part in fighting you. You aren't worth my time."

The air began to crackle with electricity and it was no surprise to the Takahashi that it was coming from the hanyou. The necklace was furiously trying to prevent any more leakage of Aki's true power; already his demonic features began to show. Nails that were once short and harmless grew into claws that could kill in one sweep, his canine teeth sharpened and poked out through his lips, and eyes that were a dull bronze with round pupils became a lightened bronze and the pupils narrowed into thin slits. Already Sesshomaru deduced from his eyes that the half-breed came from a very ancient and powerful demon line. Slits signified power and a very old ancestry and although Sesshomaru had slits, they were wider and more oval shaped.

"Like hell I'm not!"

He cried and charged to deliver a second blow; the demon stood his ground and waited for the perfect opportunity. He found it and lashed out, grabbing the guitarist's hand, stopping him dead. The force of attack blew books and heavy vases off his tables like they were pieces of paper. Amidst the chaos the demon stood calm, his demeanor never changed; eyes cold and ruthless stared into their opponent whose anger only grew. The demon's hand tightened around the fist and he could see a slight wince from the band mate, but he didn't stop there. Slowly, humiliatingly, he forced Aki's hand to lower; and while the half-demon appeared to be exerting himself to keep up with Sesshomaru's strength, the author wasn't even breaking into a sweat.

"If you truly wish to test your mediocre skills against mine I suggest we take this outside. I want a house to go back into when I'm finished with this."

He released the hanyou and walked to the door without bothering to look back; the redhead clutched his hand which now sported several broken fingers; they would heal, but not soon enough, so long as the necklace he wore was still around his neck, his full power remained dormant. His good hand came up and stroked the smoothness of the pendant; the blood that was held inside it was still warm, spelling out the character for "seal". The glow had subsided for the moment feeling its host calm down somewhat; the hybrid turned to the open door and saw the rain and beyond that the demon who waited for him to follow, dared him to follow. With no second thought running through him he walked out the door and was welcomed by the rain; the pendant began to glow again.

"Do you have any idea how much she cares about you?!"

He yelled over the deafening thunder and pounding rain, not waiting for an answer as he sprinted at top speed as power grew within him. The red glow burned beneath the shirt, it was holding back too much, the stress was too much. The writer crouched down into his fighting stance, his claws spread out wide, waiting for the prey to come to him. He saw his opening and swiped his claws, but the only thing he caught was a shred of the hanyou's shirt. He turned and faced those burning eyes that kept a safe distance. The light from the pendant was blinding him he had to narrow his eyes to see the silhouette of the band mate behind it.

"You're all she ever talks about!"

He cried once more; the half-demon's outcries certainly got his attention, but why was the hybrid shouting it out as if the world had ended and it was his fault. The author didn't have time to think about it too much before his opponent came at him a fourth time; he dodged the lethal claws and countered with his own. He drew blood this time, a thin set of cuts across Aki's right cheek, but they were healed in a matter of seconds; the hanyou turned and ran at the demon again, but he didn't do just one attack. The guitarist swung his claws blindly, not caring that he could be in serious danger.

"You made her cry! You broke her heart!"

His voice rang out over the thunder; all that time while he was being attacked, Sesshomaru did nothing but dodge. The demon studied the hybrid, trying to find the source of this anger; he was fighting with a little more passion then the author thought was possible for someone who was just looking to get revenge for a friend. Realization dawned on him; he was shocked that he didn't see it sooner. It was so bluntly obvious in the way he fought, the way his anger grew with no limit.

"You're in love with her."

Aki froze all movements as his heart lurched; was it that obvious? It apparently was, if he was going to lie his way out of that one, he blew his chances when he stopped. The demon smirked for the first time; he knew the hanyou's weakness now: his anger. It is common knowledge that the angrier you make your opponent, the more mistake's they'll make, but the writer couldn't help but fuel anger of his own. In spite of himself, he caught a small growl before it could escape his throat; there was a flood of undesired jealousy that there was someone else who wished for the miko's affections. He didn't like competition.

"How typical, a lowly half-demon falling in love with a worthless, insignificant human—"

"Shut up! You don't know anything about her or how valuable, how precious she truly is because you have no heart! You're a cold son of a bitch!"

Demonic power was seeping out more and more, the pendant could contain it no longer.

"Nobody toys with Kagome's heart like that and is allowed to live!"

Once more the hanyou came after the youkai; the author was ready, but just as he was about to jump and miss the assault, the faint sound of crystal breaking caught his ears. Everything went still before the sudden explosion of a very dangerous demonic aura threw him off balance and collided with the trees. The hybrid froze as his eyes saw the crack that had formed on the pendant; he stared down at his hands and saw the fire red demonic markings grace his wrists. He felt his power go through the roof of what it used to be; he looked up and with his enhanced vision saw the demon slowly make his way back to the open area. The hanyou growled with displeasure suddenly finding his rage much harder to control. He looked down at the necklace that was cracked, but still sealed a good portion of his power within him.

Fourteen years, for fourteen years he wore this necklace and nothing ever happened to it, he always took care of it and always trusted it to help him, but for the very first time, he didn't want that help, it was more of a hindrance than anything else. Slowly he lifted his hand up and gripped the thin silver chain, without further thought of the consequences he ripped the chain off of his neck. Just like a dying star, Aki's demonic power collapsed within him before it blew up, sending his immense aura in all directions. Sesshomaru witnessed it all and when that now deadly aura slowly sunk back into its host, he was no longer looking at the same half-demon.

Golden eyes looked back at the writer, the slits were perfect, resembling those of a pure-blooded demon; beautiful wings of blood red and pure gold perched on his back, a long tail of the same colors trailed behind him like a elegant fan only partially opened. His hair was no longer the dull red, but a vibrant crimson with golden streaks and from his forehead sprouted three feathers, like the long ones on his tail, draping gracefully over his hair. They reminded the youkai of peacock feathers, but these were far more elaborate. Now he knew which breed of demon this hanyou descended from.

"Phoenix. Not many of your kind flying around here anymore."

Aki gave him a tasteless sneer.

"If I am not mistaken, the dog lineage is limited to the Takahashi's. You're the last of a dying breed just as I am."

Now it was the demon's turn to smirk.

"Don't think of yourself as such a pure being. Your nothing more than a half-breed and from what I can smell now that infernal spray is completely gone, you're not even unique in your own standards."

There was a slight pause as the golden eyes of the hybrid narrowed.

"Your father has many children with many women does he not?"

He gave a small uncaring sigh and a half-assed shrug. The Takahashi was certainly surprised at the sudden calm that surrounded his opponent; perhaps releasing this half-breed's true power relieved the frustration and anger that had built up.

"My father was never known for his fidelity."

He looked at the half-phoenix up and down, the spitting image of his demon parent. Out of all the children the phoenix had, the one standing before him had the most resemblance to the ancient youkai.

"Quite an impressive amount of demon power you have. I've never seen this in any of your siblings. You're mother must have been a very weak human for you to obtain such strong demon features."

And then he saw it, a twitch, though small as it may be on his right arm, gave him away. Obviously the subject about his mother was just potent as the subject of Kagome; his frown deepened as he turned his body to fully face the inu youkai.

"My mother is none of your concern."

He reached back and plucked a long feather from his right wing, blood red up to the very end where the tip made a dramatic change to gold. He turned and once again faced the demon, holding his feather like a sword and right before Sesshomaru's eyes, the feather contorted, reshaped and solidified into a rather dangerous looking sword, but the beauty of it could not be ignored. It looked like an ordinary katana (traditional samurai sword), but the blade was the same blood red as the feathers were and the ribbons that decorated the hilt were a shocking gold and floated gracefully at the end of the hilt. He raised his swords in a warriors salute and waited for it to be returned.

"Come now Sesshomaru, even a city dwelling demon such as you must have a sword of his own."

He did, three of them actually. One useless in battle: Tenseiga, with the power to heal and left by his father; one he couldn't use: Sounga, because his father placed a seal of the Three Divine Beings over to keep it in check, and the last one was the one he felt most comfortable with: Tokijin, forged from the fangs of the Takahashi's and even the Higurashi's most hated clan. The Onigumo clan descended from a volatile half-demon who created descendants from his very flesh; one such descendant, Gatenmaru, came after his and Kagome's ancestors, but was killed and his fangs were used to forge the third sword. The demon raised his hand in the air and without taking his eyes off the half-phoenix, called out to his sword.

"Tokijin, I summon you to fight."

* * *

Rain spattered upon the windows in the dark apartment; Kagome had retreated back into her room again and left the four guys to soak in the information that she just gave them. Aki is a half-demon; they figured demon blood was in him, but certainly not _half_ of him. He didn't look like it, but she didn't tell them of the seal he wore beneath his clothes that hid his appearance and his aura. The band members were surprised when the miko emerged from her room a second time, the blankets still wrapped around her; they all rose to their feet and waited for her to approach them, but she did not.

The now hollowed brown eyes of their singer looked out the window beside the back door leading to the small backyard. The rain called to her, beckoned her into its refreshing touch; unlike the rain before that froze her to the core, this one seemed to have the soul purpose of cleansing her. She brought her hands up and brushed away the blankets; they fell to the floor, leaving a distinctive curve where her body had previously occupied them. A small hand reached for the doorknob when Miroku finally had enough courage to speak up.

"Kagome, what are you doing?"

She turned to them with a dazed smile, her eyes slightly glazed over.

"I'm going dancing."

She replied quietly and without waiting for a reply, she opened the door and walked out barefoot into the unkempt grass. The rain poured on her and she spread her arms wide in offering allowing the cool rain to wash away her sins. The moment she heard the music that was only meant for her did she start to dance.

_What if I wanted to break? Laugh it all up in your face._

_What would you do?_

_What if I fell to the floor? Couldn't take this anymore._

_What would you do?_

Lightning flashed as if it felt her growing excitement; the priestess threw her head back as her body bent backwards into a beautiful curve. She lost track of what she was doing and began releasing her spiritual aura in short bursts, almost like a very slow pulse. It froze a few raindrops and suspended them in midair, and when the lightning forked, they glittered like diamonds. The display of nature's power had the miko dancing in a beautiful, but quick paced dance.

_Come break me down! Bury me, bury me!_

_I am finished with you!_

Her excitement died down again as her arms gracefully spun in intricate designs and patterns that were strange, but mystifying. The miko continued her dance, feet moved constantly, but there was no disturbance on the grass; it was as if she was a ghost, floating upon the ground. She never took her eyes away from the sky, the dark and brewing clouds, knowing that Sesshomaru and Aki were caught up in the same storm. She raised her right hand up and lightning forked across it, answering her call.

_What if I wanted to fight? Beg for the rest of my life._

_What would you do?_

_You say you wanted more; what are you waiting for?_

_I'm not running for you._

She closed her eyes and listened to the story the lightning told her of the battle that was being set; the two had their weapons, now they were waiting to see who was going to strike first. The band that looked out at her thought she had completely lost her mind, standing out in the middle of the rain and narrowly missing the lightning that shot across the sky. What surprised them even more was the blankets they had wrapped their singer in were covered in frost from the inside. Was it humanly possible to do such a thing even for someone as amazing as her; the blankets didn't seem to be frozen by her on purpose.

As they stared out at her dancing, Miroku studied her movements, there was a pattern to them that seemed strangely familiar, but he couldn't quite remember where he had seen it. Right as they turned away to examine the blankets, lightning struck the ground in the backyard and fearing the worst they cried out the miko's name and tried to open the door, but it was jammed. They looked up again and saw a transparent blue bubble absorb the power of the wild electricity. White streaks of the dangerous element now surrounded her, trapped by her barrier it could only circle around her.

_Come break me down! Bury me, bury me!_

_I am finished with you!_

_Look at my eyes; you're killing me, killing me!_

_All I wanted was you!_

Her face suddenly seemed so down trodden, the likes of which they never saw before except on this night; her eyes seemed to be crying out for something or someone. As her dance continued, the haze over the monk's mind seemed to clear with ever step she took, he remembered a book he had come across during his teachings with techniques that only a select few had potential for. Aura Transferring, one of the hardest subjects there was; if mastered, one could send their aura any amount of distances to fight, or in most cases, defend. He now knew what she was doing, but who was the technique for and how was she supposed to move her power if she had no link?

That was one of the weaknesses to this skill, there had to be a connection between the spiritualist and the location or else the aura would remain with its host, but he soon saw the connection, several actually; she was drenched in one, another almost killed her, and the last one boomed over their heads. How clever to use the weather, but he could see the reluctance in her to use such a technique. Even though she appeared to have the ability, she didn't seem to want to have anything more to do with the demon and he mouthed: I'm sorry, to her.

Kagome listened to the lightning as it spoke volumes to her, although the lightning did not have a consciousness of its own, the element did have a type of memory bank, showing her scenes of the mansion and the quarreling hanyou and youkai. The priestess did not need the lightning to realize that the seal had been removed from Aki's person; she could sense the phoenix aura all the way to the apartment. As much as she cared about the half-demon who has been like a brother to her, she did not want him to harm the one she had grown deep feelings for. This would be the last thing she would ever do for Sesshomaru.

_I tried to be someone else, but nothing seemed to change._

_I know now this is who I really am inside._

_Finally found myself, found it for a chance I know now_

_THIS IS WHO I REALLY AM!_

The words screamed so loudly in her mind she swore she screamed them out loud; she wanted him to know who he was dealing with for the last time. She closed her eyes, dug deep within herself and found her anger, found her sorrow, her pain, her unrequited love all swirling chaotically within her, but in an instant they froze and for once obeyed her command as she concentrated them into the lightning.

"Show me."

She whispered to the element that swirled around her and immediately she saw images of a sword with a tainted aura far more dangerous than the one who wielded it: Sesshomaru; saw Aki with his blood red katana, one she was very familiar with. They stood facing each other and the demon said something that her ears could not hear, that moment the half-demon snapped and came charging at his opponent with all his force.

"NO!"

_Come break me down! Bury me, bury me!_

_I am finished with you!_

_Look at my eyes; you're killing me, killing me._

_All I wanted was you!_

She screamed and at last finished the complex pattern; her hand shot up to the sky once again and the lightning wrapped itself around her arm. She shut her eyes and thought of the image of the place she had to take her aura and immediately felt a pull.

_Come break me down! Break me down!_

_Break! Me! DOWN!_

Aki swung his blade up and brought it down just as Sesshomaru raised his to parry the blow; the two blades collided, but not with each other. White hot lightning struck right where their blades were to meet; they stood there rooted to the spot staring at the glowing blue flames as they slowly began to take shape, the figure raised it's head against Aki who was dumbfounded.

"K-Kagome?!"

_What if I wanted to break?_

_What are you waiting for? I'm not running from you._

Her slightly disfigured eyes narrowed in anger.

"Aki, return to the apartment."

She said quietly and he stammered away, appalled at the thought of his blade anywhere near her, even if it was just her aura taking the form of her. The look of betrayal hung heavily over him as he stared at the way she was facing him, like he was her opponent now.

"Why are you defending him?!"

He cried over the booming thunder pointing his blade at the one she stood in front of; she sighed and looked him dead in the eye.

"I would tell you if I had an answer."

Was her reply and he lowered his katana; at sight of this her harsh tone softened.

"Please Aki, I don't want anyone hurt on my behalf; I hold no resentment towards Sesshomaru, so you shouldn't either, so _please_ return to the apartment."

She pleaded with earnest and gave him a look that he couldn't refuse; he growled, but loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword which turned back to nothing but a harmless feather. Bending down only to pick up the broken necklace, he came back up with a look of absolution.

"If you ever make her cry again, I will kill you; if nothing else ensure that you can't have children."

With that he turned away, got back on his bike, and drove off. Instantly the demon saw the figure relax; he refused to believe that the blue flaming figure was Kagome until she turned around to look back at him. His heart betrayed him as it leapt out of his chest; even like this, she looked so beautiful to him. He hand reached out to cup the side of her face, but it only passed through the now harmless aura; realizing his mistake, he forced his hand back to his side. She gave him a small smile and turned to face him fully, raising her hand to touch his face; he felt her aura brush against him and he had never felt so soothed before. They were finally alone and both wanted to prolong the moment, but time was against the miko; her strength greatly depleted from her run, maintaining her aura so far away became a strenuous effort; she only had a few more moments left.

"Goodbye… Sesshomaru."

She whispered his name with such aching, such longing that his soul called out her name even though he said nothing; he forced his arms to stay where they were, that had never been so difficult. Slowly she began to fade and so did her touch until he was alone, so completely, utterly, bitterly alone. Never before did he regret something so much than when he let her slip away, judging by the tone of her voice, for good. While the rain continued to pour, he turned his back from the spot where the miko last stood and walked back into his home, but no longer did it provide the comfort he sought.

* * *

Kagome opened her eyes and found herself lying in her bed, surrounded by the guys with only one missing: Aki. The technique had taken its toll on her and the moment she brought her aura and her consciousness back to the apartment she collapsed, her strength all but completely gone. Seeing their worried faces, she smiled up at them, sensing the negative feelings weighing her down were gone. The miko sat up in her bed and they all backed away to give her some breathing space.

"Kagome, what you did in the backyard… what was…"

Koga couldn't find the right words to say, but she only continued smiling.

"I was only trying to bring a lost bird home."

They all knew who she was talking about and seconds later, their bird walked through the door and went straight to her room. Immediately the guys stood up, suddenly very wary of the half-demon; he cleared his throat and looked away in shame.

"I-I would like to have word alone with Kagome."

When no one made a move to leave, he gave a sigh and looked up at them.

"I promise I won't leave."

Only then did they slowly make their way out; Shippo shot him a warning glare.

"If you raise your voice at her once or do anything to upset her again, I will remove you."

He swore and walked out the door, closing it behind him with a slam; now alone he walked up to her and showed her the broken necklace, now back in his possession, it once again hid his true form, but some features now stood out.

"I'm sorry."

He said quietly indicating to both the necklace and what he did at the demon's mansion. She took the necklace from him, being so close to its presence he looked like he always did, no changes. The priestess turned it over in her fingers in examination; the blood was still contained inside the crystal, but the crack was dangerously close to the kanji character holding the powerful blood.

"This will have to hold up for now. We'll wait until a concert is set back in Kyoto where the main house is, that way we can make an excuse to go find you a new one, but I don't know if Jiji (Grandfather) still has them, then again, he hasn't cleaned out his storage room in years."

He nodded his head in understanding, very grateful that she had not cursed him out of her room or scolded him like a child for acting so foolishly. She couldn't be angry with him, as a matter of fact, she felt touched that he would go to such drastic measures to get revenge for her. The miko didn't want any more tension between them, she had to find something that'll take his mind off what he did. He turned to leave when she called out to him.

"Something's been bother me…"

She confided knowing he was the only one who could help and he placed his full attention on her words.

"… I'm having trouble remembering some things Aki and I don't know why. I've been passing out and getting such terrible headaches… it's scaring me."

She whispered the last part and he felt her fear in her voice; his heart jolted, she had had more than one episode.

"I keep hearing voices and I feel a great loss for someone, but I don't know who and I don't know why. Something's wrong with me and I want answers. I haven't told anyone else about this because you're the only one I can confide in."

She looked up at him and he recognized that look of desolation and the trust she put into him to tell her the truth and help her. Walking back to her and sitting her bed he took her hand and grasped it lightly; he had to get these episodes to stop, but the only way he knew how was for her to stop thinking about them.

"Nothing's wrong with you, forget these memories; I've been with you since we were kids and I have no recollection or reason for you to feel such loss."

She found comfort in his words and with that worry now taken care of, she allowed her body to succumb to the exhaustion she felt. The miko reached out and hugged him with a light hearted smile.

"Thank you, Aki. I'm so glad you're here, you're the one person I can fully trust and I know you'll never deceive me."

And with that she slipped back into her subconscious world. Her words tore him apart and he hated it, hated having to lie, but there was nothing else he could to do to preserve the Kagome he knew now; if ever at any given moment she remembered, she would surely die.

* * *

Three weeks had passed and Kagome's recovery was looking bright, she was smiling so much now, laughing and having fun with the band. Another concert was scheduled and with the new found popularity of the band tickets were disappearing from the sale booths the moment the doors opened. Never did they believe it was possible, not only were their concerts being sold out, but their phones were ringing off the hook with reporters from all the big magazines, going so far as to offer money for exclusive interviews.

"Screw them."

Their manager would always say.

"Hold out for more."

They did, the group never saw so many zeros after the first number on a check before in their lives; what drew reporters and people in the most was the unique singer with such soft looks it was hard to believe she was a he. The vocalist was the life of the band, when on stage, no one shined more than she, when in practice none gave more effort than she. There was just something else about her that made it impossible not to be drawn in by her welcoming smile and healing voice. But underneath all of the positives she showed to the public and her band, something deeply troubled her; no one understood how frustrating it was to have pieces of their memory missing or completely obliterated.

There was one person she was able to take out her frustration on and whose presence she took comfort in, but he kicked her out of his home and on the night of the storm, she said good-bye to him for the last time. The loss she felt for him was greater than she expected, her heart ached at the thought of him and her abdomen clenched in anticipation for his touch. Her body called out for his sinful kisses and forbidden caresses, but she made her body and mind two separate things and forced herself to focus on the tasks ahead. At night when she was in her room alone, she would dream of him, they were so real; she could feel his touch even as she lay awake covered in a cold sweat, her blankets strewn about and her pillow covered in rake marks from her digging into them.

"Come on Okaa-san! We're going to the amusement park!"

Shippo cried and grabbed her hand as the band made their way to the designated vehicles; all of them were overly disguised in hats, sunglasses and the fox demon even attempted a fake mustache. They stuck out like zits on a model's face and only when darkness fell did they get to enjoy the rides without being recognized by the swarms of fangirls. She never had so much fun before; finally she felt that she was finally over the demon, her dreams of him stopped and he no longer was the focus of her wayward thoughts. She was even able to pass by a bookstore with his novels in the window without looking back. But still deep down, she could feel the dull ache in her heart and her mind would conjure up the look on his face when they parted for the last time.

Contrary to what she was feeling, her young "son" seemed happier now that she was living in the apartment again; he clung to her and followed her around like a baby duckling. It made her smile and also had her wondering if she had children, would they be like her demon child? With their next concert only days away, Shippo made sure that he did whatever it took to make his mom happy; he still wasn't sure how serious he was about the miko being his adoptive mother, but she was the first person he ever felt anything close to a family connection, but now wasn't a time to think of such things. Tonight was a night of celebration, their concert had officially sold out and they were living it up on the roller coasters, pushing their confidence to new heights.

"Falling Leaf! I wanna go on the Falling Leaf!"

The kitsune cried out pointing to the tallest metal structure there was; the Falling Leaf was the most unpredictable ride there was. Thriller seekers were strapped to the underside of leaf shaped seats, so they were lying horizontal with their noses to the ground and were hoisted up hundreds of feet before being released. Like the light-weight leaves the riders fell twisting, turning, and flipping randomly like a real leaf would; it was not a ride for the weak hearted. After a dozen nonstop falls, Miroku finally lost his dinner and the band decided to call it a night. They all piled back into their cars and bikes before driving off; once back to the serenity of their apartment, all clamored into their respective beds and observed eight hours of silence. Kagome fell asleep with a smile on her face, her thoughts of the joy she experienced and shared with her closest friends, not once did a certain somebody come into her mind.

* * *

"I see, so this person from your past is appearing in your dreams and is speaking to you when you're awake?"

The doctor asked discretely with no hint of mocking while Sesshomaru reclined on the couch; his gaze went from the white ceiling to the woman with short black hair and thin black rimmed glasses. In her hands she held a pen and clipboard on which she wrote nonstop, everything he was telling her. He nodded in reply to her question.

"Tell me, have there been any changes in your environment? Has a woman with a similar personality or description come into you life since our last meeting?"

The miko's face jumped into his mind so fast he involuntarily blinked a few times, his heart lurched; not wanting this to be seen by the psychiatrist, he turned his face away.

"No."

He said curtly; it was his worst lie yet and the woman sitting in the roller chair knew it. She adjusted her glasses and looked over several papers that she had filled up the moment their session started; with a sigh she set the clipboard down and laced her fingers together.

"Mr. Takahashi, I don't know what more I can do for you. You've been my patient for over eight years now; we've been meeting regularly on a monthly basis and suddenly you show up in my office and force me to cancel a meeting with one of my other patients. What you are asking of me is something I might be able to do."

He looked over at her and could see the conflict going on inside her mind whether to do what he asks or stick with her original plan and hope everything is smoothed over.

"Demon physiology is still being studied Mr. Takahashi; I don't know if the potency of the prescription you are asking me to give you will work or kill you. The drugs you are on are already very powerful, if you can't yield results from those, I'm not sure this new drug will be any better."

Of course he knew the risks, but he was willing to take them, and she looked up at him.

"The last two sessions you had with me, you showed a great deal of improvement, but suddenly you come here and it is as if you've taken two steps backwards from where you once were."

Last two sessions… that was around the time Kagome began living with him; he shook his head in denial, no way was that black-mailing, two-faced _woman_ helping him with his mental health. She stood up and walked over to him, he rose to his feet as well, knowing that their time was all but up.

"My suggestion Mr. Takahashi would be that whatever you were doing, whatever was going on the past two and a half months before this…"

'_Please don't say it. Please don't say it. Please don't—'_

"… you should start it again, bring it back into your life, because it was obviously a very good thing, even if you don't realize it."

'

* * *

"Dear brother, if I'm not mistaken, I believe something's bothering you."

Kagura Onigumo, her face partially hidden behind her fan of white, red and black, teased walking over to him; she closed the fan with a flick of her wrist revealing that smirk Naraku Onigumo found so annoying. The hanyou regarded his demon sibling with obvious distaste throwing down the magazine sporting Bad Luck on the cover; the garnet colored eyes looked down at the magazine.

"So what? Some small time band is in the spot light; they'll never go big. Ask will be on top, just like we always are."

Those sickly red eyes looked at the demoness who took matters too lightly for his liking. He was the leader of their band Ask whose members complied of the descendants of the infamous Naraku; it was a great honor to be named after his ancestor, but he did not feel he got the respect of the name and this feeling was amplified every time he saw the wind sorceress who always hid behind her fan.

"Look at the charts Kagura; they're right below us and they've got another sold out concert tomorrow."

The half-demon turned to his other sister; she had a child-like appearance, looking no more than eight, dressed in nothing but white and obsidian colored eyes that had no limit to their depths. She held a silver mirror in her hands, the cover of the magazine reflected in it.

"Their popularity will only grow."

Her hoarse voice called out in the silence; it was rare for young Kanna to speak and when she did, they were sure to listen. Hakudoshi Onigumo leaned forward peering down at the face of the lead singer; he knew that face from somewhere. The silver-haired demon nudged his twin brother Moruyomaru and pointed down at the vocalist's face. The demon with puppet like movements looked at the face as well, but shook his head not recognizing the face.

"Naraku, this singer, who is he?"

The half-breed yanked up the magazine and read the article about the band. His group would not become second to such filth. He could never be beneath a band that complied of demons, humans, and worst of all: half-demons. Although he was a half-breed as well, he despised it and did what he could to expel the only thing his human mother gave him: her mortal blood. He couldn't be the leader of a demon group if he had human in him. His violet-red eyes narrowed in anger when it did not yield the results he wanted.

"It just says that his name's Kagome and goes on about how amazing his voice is, all the other band members have last names, but he doesn't. In fact there's nothing here about the singer's history, not even a home town."

Then he went very still and everyone knew he had come up with something genius and cruel. A sneer pulled at the edges of his lips; the little light went off in his head at the location and date of the next performance.

"I'm going to a concert tomorrow."

He scanned the room, looking around at all of them.

"I want the necessary equipment ready."

* * *

It was fifteen minutes before the concert was to start and already the seats were filled and a stadium of five thousand people chanted the band's name, urging them to come out. Kagome could feel the rush of excitement, the anticipation and little jitters she always got before a performance. Like a nervous child, she poked her head through the curtains and looked out into the packed crowd, scanning the unfamiliar faces; she didn't know why. It was becoming a habit for her now, an impulse she couldn't stop. The singer turned away, not knowing what to expect from such actions; she couldn't deny it anymore… some part of her wanted to look out in that crowd and see his face, see him staring up at her while she sang from her heart. As the band stood behind the closed curtains, waiting for them to part, they all gave signals to the vocalist, asking if she was okay.

"I'm great! Never better!"

She was, but a small part of her whispered: liar, her words and bright smile convinced those who mattered most and they visibly relaxed. Now with that worry out of the way, excitement grew within them as the curtains parted and spotlights shined down upon them. The miko brought the microphone up to her lips and smiled.

"Hello Golden Stadium!"

The audience erupted and her smile grew bigger; their presence soothed her chaotic mind and deterred her thoughts from a certain silver-haired demon. The concert went on without a hitch; the band was phenomenal with Kagome at the top of her game. She shone brighter than a new penny, but despite that, she felt a particular pair of eyes on her, dangerous and sickly, the longer the concert went on, the more dark the feeling came. Someone with demonic power was staring her down and not liking what they were seeing. As she sang she poured her very soul into her voice, spiritual power leaked out and spread through the crowd.

While everyone else, even those of demon blood felt soothed, the person with the sickly eyes hissed and turned away slightly. She felt their shock, whoever this person was, was not expecting that from her and the more she sang with the help of her power, the more the vile thing sank away until she felt its presence was no longer within the audience. The priestess couldn't help but arrogantly smirk at her small, but satisfying achievement; now with the pest out of the way she could place all of her attention on appeasing the concert goers. No one had noticed the little scuffle, but it was perfectly concealed. After several hours, the final song finally came.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have been a wonderful audience and we would like to conclude our performance with one of our latest songs. We hope you enjoy it."

She hid the reluctance to sing this last song; it was an admission of something she didn't want everyone else to know. As she heard Aki open on guitar she felt her heart accelerate and a funny feeling bubble up in her stomach. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly; with the microphone up to her mouth, her lips parted and her voice rang out like soft church bells.

"This time, this place. Misused, mistakes.

Too long, too late. Who was I to make you wait?

Just one chance, just one breath, just in case there's just one left,

'Cuz you know, you know, you know."

The soft, but electrifying sound emanated throughout the stadium as her voice climaxed into the chorus, but there was only one person who she wanted this to be heard by and he wasn't here. She'll never see him again.

"That I love you; I have loved you all along

And I miss you, been far away for far too long.

I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go.

Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore."

The intensity died down and she felt a painful sting in her heart as the chorus ended; she cursed the day she wrote this song, but the honesty of it made for great music. It actually made Mr. K tear up when they played it for him; despite what she swore earlier, she felt herself tearing up again, but she refused to let them spill and diverted her attention to her music.

"On my knees, I'll ask last chance for one last dance

'Cuz with you I'd withstand all of hell to hold you hand.

I'd give it all, I'd give for us, give anything but I won't give up,

'Cuz you know, you know, you know."

As the chorus came a second time, she placed more emotion into her voice, she couldn't help it, music was her life and even though it hurt her, she would not deny this song the energy it deserved. The sheer power was amplified as the rest of the band was affected by their singer's voice and gave even more to their song.

"I love you, I have loved you all along.

And I'll miss you, been far away for far too long.

I keep dreaming, you'll be with me and you'll never go.

Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore."

For the first time she opened her eyes, but her vision was blurred so the faces of the audience all blended together like ink in water. Closing her eyes again, she allowed herself to be swept away.

"So far away, so far away. Been far away for far too long.

But you know, you know, you know…"

Her voice climaxed again, but no longer was she singing with her voice, her very soul was poured out as well as her spiritual power which escaped of its own accord.

"I wanted, I wanted you to stay.

'Cuz I needed, I need to hear you say:

That I love you, I have you all along

And I'll forgive you, for being away for far too long.

So keep breathing 'cuz I'm not leaving you anymore.

Believe it, hold onto me never let me go."

As the song ended there was an explosion of sound, the likes of which that had never been heard in the stadium before. She turned away from the audience for a moment to blink back the tears before turning around and bowing to the audience and once again thanked them for their attendance. While Shippo, Inu-Yasha, Koga, Miroku, and Aki all exited to the left, Kagome left by herself to the right where she would meet up with everyone else backstage. The moment she stepped out of the sight of the audience and crewmen, a tall figure dropped down behind her and covered her mouth with a clawed hand. She gasped, breathing in through her nose and in spite of what was happening, this person's scent made her feel at true ease for the first time in three weeks. A mouth descended towards her ear and sensually whispered:

"If you want to come back, meet me at the front entrance when everyone, especially that half-demon, is gone."

With that said, the demon left and the miko stood there frozen in place as weeks of unshed tears almost immediately rolled down the sides of her face.

"God damn you."

She whispered; the flood gates opened and everything that was bottled up spilled out. It took one week to get her smile back, another to get her personality, and the third to get her mind and body to stop screaming out for him, but that one moment completely shattered everything she had done. Her mind was in turmoil, over-flowing with chaotic emotions and thoughts, but one thing resounded clearly in her mind: he wanted her back. She hugged herself suddenly feeling the imprint of his strong arm that had not moments ago wrapped around her. Nothing ever felt so right before when he held her in his arms and it was then she knew what she had to do.

Putting on the fakest smile she could, she dried her tears and walked over to the guys who all had looks of accomplishment. When they spotted her, she was immediately pulled into the center of their circle and it wasn't as hard as she thought to smile when surrounded by them. Sake was passed around and they held a toast in honor of a concert well done; Kagome filled her tiny glass to the brim and downed the clear, but strong alcohol in one gulp. She made a move to grab the bottle to refill her cup, but Koga pulled it just out of reach.

"Whoa! Slow down Kagome! Save it for the party we're going to have back at the apartment."

The stinging sense of betrayal flickered across her features, she wasn't going to be at that party; she needed to find a way to be alone and in order to do that she needed to be sober. Lowering the hand that held her empty cup she gave him a very false pout face.

"Aw come on Koga, it's no fun to be all tense before the celebrating starts."

She teased and everyone pretended to side with her and held out their empty cups for him to fill. They stayed backstage having fun and goofing off for nearly twenty minutes, by then all the people were gone; only Mr. K remained waiting by the van used to transport the band and their instruments. After the crazed manager lobbed several live grenades and emptied the bullets in his machine gun saying that he needed to catch up on his beauty sleep, they postponed their celebration until they returned to the apartment.

The guys immediately loaded themselves into the van; Aki turned back and held his hand out to her to help her into the van, but she didn't take it. They were on the side of the stadium, close to the front entrance; she felt his presence in the area. The demon was watching her, seeing what she was going to do; no doubt he had heard everything they said backstage. She backed off, playing with her hands and looking nervously around, she had to find something to say. Because she was not getting in the van, everyone turned their eyes on her and this was the one time she wished the spotlight shining down on her would disappear.

"Ah, y-you guys go on ahead. I-I'll um stay here, y-you know, g-get some uh f-fresh air."

She cursed her voice and mind for not cooperating; unable to stop her fingers from shaking, she crammed them in her pockets and scuffed the toe of her shoe against the asphalt.

"What are you talking about? You can't stay here by yourself."

Aki said offered his hand out to her a little more urgently, but she shook her head.

"Please guys, I-I just want some fresh air."

After a few moments the half-demon looked back at the band and sighed.

"Alright, you guys go on ahead, Kagome and I will stay here."

He began to get out of the car.

"No!"

She cried out and stepped in front of him to prevent him from leaving the van; quickly collecting herself she backed off a little bit and looked down.

"I-I really want to just be alone. Please do this for me."

She looked up at him and pleaded with her voice and eyes; he scanned them and gave a frustrated groan.

"It's because of _him_ isn't it?"

She was a little shocked at the tone of his voice, but nodded her head all the same; she looked away ashamed for lying, but she had to get them away.

"I've got money for a cab and my cell phone so you can call me."

That was two more lies, she had no money and although she had her cell phone, she would not be answering it tonight. They all exchanged worried glances, but the decision rested on Aki who did not like the small responsibility.

"You better come back."

He finally said half-joking, half-serious and she gave him a forced smile.

"I will."

With that said, he turned away and closed the door on her; moments later the van drove away, the headlights fading until they disappeared all together. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned around walking slowly to the front entrance. Immediately she felt as if she was taking a step back in time; the miko saw him just outside the ring of light of a lone streetlight, she was alone, and the moment he saw her coming, he stepped into the light a lit cigarette in his mouth. At the sight of him, her legs wanted to give out, but she forced them to keep walking until she was the one out of the light's soft touch. Sesshomaru pulled the cigarette away from his mouth and stamped it out with his foot; their eyes met, his arrogant and electrifying, hers calm and apathetic despite the turmoil of feelings buzzing inside her.

"A very interesting last song, but how much truth is in those words?"

Her heart pounded out of control as an unfamiliar feeling crept up inside her, perhaps it was happiness, but it felt different. He heard her sing, he had hidden somewhere to hear her and that was all she needed to know to get her spirits soaring.

"I don't sing lies Sesshomaru."

Her voice was soft and collected; he smirked.

"But you do tell them."

At this she grew very silent, her cool composure was failing her; she stepped into the light and looked up at him, very intimidated by their height difference.

"Why did you come?"

She asked, hoping to change the subject to one that was obviously as uncomfortable for him as her lying was for her. It worked; he looked away reaching for his cancer stick only to realize he had stamped it out earlier. Tucking his hands in his pockets, his gaze focused on the sign to the stadium instead of her eyes he replied.

"My own plan backfired on me; I believed that once you were gone, things would return to normal, it did, but there was an… emptiness to it and it's affecting my work. I'm missing very important deadlines."

She quirked an eyebrow and before she could stop herself she countered.

"Oh is that why? You want me to live in your house again just so you can feel comfortable enough to make your deadlines?"

She gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth and looked up at him with worry reflecting in her eyes, he on the other hand almost breathed a sigh of relief; it was those wisecracks and puns from her that made his life interesting. Her presence, her just being here brought back the comfort the little slice of sanity he needed.

"Don't take it personally. You should be happy."

She was about to make a retort when he took two steps, dangerously narrowing the distance between them; in one unseen motion he brought her into the shelter of his arms.

"No woman has ever affected me like this."

He whispered and her heart skipped a beat before it pounded out of control; it was so right, it felt so right and she cursed herself, her body for feeling that way. She didn't want this, she didn't want to feel this way, didn't want to hear these things and respond with such raw emotion, but she couldn't help it, couldn't fight. She smothered her face in his expensive suit and gripped the front of the jackets with her small hands. Her body screamed: take him now, take him now! Her heart screamed: take him now, take him now! Her mind screamed: take him now, take him now! But she ignored all of them, using up her last bit of sanity to ask one question.

"W-what are you saying Sesshomaru?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, loving the way she said his name, as if she was the only one who would ever say it in such a manner. He pulled away slightly so he could lift her chin up and have their eyes meet; there were tears forming in hers. The demon opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't say it yet, there was a little unfinished business he wanted to take care of. Slowly, torturously he brought his head down upon hers and caught her lips with his; everything within her went still before it all exploded. He was kissing her… _he_ was _kissing_ _her_! The tears around her eyes spilled free, _'You bastard.' _She thought almost lovingly as she closed her eyes and deepened the kiss.

Nothing had ever been so perfect in her life, nothing had ever made her happier than when his lips met hers; everything she felt over the past three weeks she poured into that one kiss just as she had with her last song. He swept his tongue across her lower lip, asking for admission and she opened up to him whole-heartedly. He delved deep and danced with hers; that moment she felt it was as if someone had clamped down hard on her feminine core as heat pooled deep within her abdomen. Need uncontrollable and primitive spread throughout her very being until she thought she die of it; an insatiable addiction that felt way too good, a fire that knew no bounds. She almost cried out when he pulled away, her desire suddenly cut off; she looked up at him and saw that same look in his eye. His desire was reaching a fever pitch, but now he felt was a good time to ask; a clawed hand reached up and cupped the side of her face with surprising gentleness.

"Kagome, will you be my lover?"

* * *

**Oh another evil cliffy! I am on a roll with those! Sorry about the long update, life got in the way. My family has been hiding my grandmother from my mentally insane uncle who's on the loose, but don't worry he's only a danger to those who share a blood relation to him (me included… shit). **

**It's hard running away from a bipolar man with no grasp on reality and has access to several guns; sorry too much info, but if want to give me hell for my long update, take an f-ing number and wait until my next chapter comes out when hopefully things simmer down, BUT and I want to make this clear to all: NO flaming! I only accept constructive criticism. **

**There's a difference between: "Oh my God that was horrible, the scene changes made no sense at all and they were SO annoying" and "perhaps you could have done a little more work of alternating between parts of the story in correspondence to the characters". Quote A I will get pissed at (or laugh depending on my mood) and completely erase you from my memory bank, Quote B I will listen to and take what you have to say into consideration. Please respect what I have made with a dignified review.**

**Okay credits!**

**Songs:**

**The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars**

**Far Away by Nickelback **

**Characters:**

**All Inu-Yasha characters correspond to the Gravitation characters.**

**Mr. K and Seguchi Tohma are from Gravitation**

**Thank you for reading and please review, I would very much like to know how you felt about this chapter, a little angst, I guess real life sort of leaked into my chapter.**

**-Love's Essence **


	5. Oh How We Danced

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha or any of the original Inu-Yasha characters. This fanfiction is partially based on the anime series Gravitation**

**Gravitation**

Chapter 5: Oh How We Danced

Kagome blinked a few times. Did she hear correctly? Lover? _Lover?! _Her heart pounded so hard it hurt; he was no help, staring down upon her with those eyes that were far too deep with a sharpness that could cut through steel. She opened her mouth, but no words would come out; chocolate eyes closed to get away from that gold stare. _'Calm down, calm down, calm down.' _The miko kept telling herself, it didn't help very much, but it did get her voice back. Her eyes opened and traveled up until they met those golden ones she had come to know. She felt all of her surroundings disappear, slowly fade away until there was only him, only his eyes, his touch, his _everything_.

Could she do it? Could she be the lover of a demon? Nothing ever felt so right, but _was_ it right? She would be going against everything she was taught and believed in as a miko, she would betray her band mates, and Aki for when he stood up for her. His question was simple, yet so complicated for her; she didn't want him looking at her, didn't want his arms around her or his body pressed so tightly against hers, it made it impossible to think straight. She wanted help, she wanted guidance, she wanted her father who always knew what was right, which path to take, but he wasn't here and she needed to stand on her own two feet. This was something she had to do without his assistance.

Time stood still for the demon when eyes that were way too deep to belong to a normal human locked onto his. Why wasn't she saying anything? Why did she look so indecisive? More importantly, why did he care so much if she said yes or no? The demon knew he had to prepare himself for the worst, because it seemed like she was going to give it. An eternity passed before her soft lips parted as two words slipped out. Every thing in him became alert, every ounce of his attention was on her, something he had not done in a long time.

"I will."

He never moved as fast in his life to kiss someone than when he swooped down and claimed her mouth with such a passion, the air around them seemed to heat up. Hot, demanding, forceful, yet extremely gentle, his kiss was more than her dreams could ever portray; nothing could compare to the real deal. He had her almost bending backwards as she held on for dear life; the lone streetlight shone down upon them like two they were actors in a grand play, she swore she heard the orchestra hidden beneath the stage begin to play. His tongue slipped past her lips and went straight for hers, if it wasn't for his arms around her, she would have collapsed on the spot. The seconds ticked away and neither one of them had any thought of parting when suddenly Kagome pulled away and dragged the longest breath of air he'd ever heard.

"Forgot to breathe."

She said, her voice hoarse while she steadied her breathing; the demon looked around, this open area was not a safe place, someone could see them easily, besides, what he had planned did not involve the vulnerability of the parking lot. After he made sure her breathing had evened out, he brought his mouth to down to the shell of her ear and whispered

"Come home with me."

Her heart stopped before it slammed out of control; she knew what he meant. His hands were so calm and stable, hers couldn't stop shaking; she knew yet the singer couldn't bring herself to say no, she was too far in.

"Let's go."

He nodded and tightened his arms around her, her face pressed lightly against his chest, but beneath his suit she felt an unusual movement coming from the back. A thick silver colored tail sprouted from his lower back and draped itself across the demon's right shoulder; she stared with wide eyes of amazement as the tail grew. The two lifted off the ground as red clouds grew at their feet; they were flying. The sudden elation of being in the air was too much to handle, she couldn't help but smile as she looked down upon the top of buildings as they made their way to his home. As new as this was for her, being up in the air had her mind swirling with fragments of a past she couldn't piece together.

"_Where to my fair lady?"_

_Aki held out his hand with a smile allowing the tips of his fangs to show; sharp claws glinted in the moonlight. Kagome knocked his hand away and embraced him, she tilted her head up and whispered in his ear_

"_The stars."_

_She giggled and looked at him with an air of haughtiness, a sly smirk on her lips; the half-demon gathered her in his arms and opened his magnificent wings of red and gold._

"_As you wish…"_

The miko shook her head. _'Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!' _She cried in her mind as pain blossomed in her head, that little piece of memory played over and over; she noticed that the demon's pace had slowed down, those all-knowing eyes upon her. She looked right up into those liquid gold orbs not bothering to try to hide her sudden pain and fear. _'God please, don't do this to me now. Focus Kagome! Look into his eyes! Focus on his eyes!' _She did, slowly the pain receded until it was gone and the memory faded into the dark recesses of her mind. She breathed a sigh of relief and saw him shift back to looking ahead, only then did she truly become aware of her situation.

The desire from before came back so fast sucked in her breath; she became aware of his arms around her, their bodies pressed so closely together, how calmly his heart beat while hers probably broke a world record. She didn't realize they were at his mansion until he released her and walked the short distance from her to the door; the miko never felt so empty before when he let her go. Before the vocalist could say anything the youkai unlocked the door and stepped aside, holding his hand in a manner of invitation to his home. Her gaze went from him to the dark interior of the house.

"It is always polite to invite a woman in before anything else."

She knew what lurked beyond that door, knew what it meant; the moment she went beyond the threshold, she will have consented to his wishes, whatever they may be. She took a shaky step forward, her legs were weak, mind in turmoil, yet blank at the same time. Small feet moved of their own accord, a gust of wind woke her up to find that she was only a few steps from him. The demon stood there, his face devoid of all emotion; she was frozen, there was no turning back once she stepped inside.

Another problem instantly presented itself: the little voice in her head that always made her do the "right" thing. What he wanted and even what she wanted went against all her family values, laws, teachings, beliefs, traditions, basically everything under the sun; would she give that all up for him? The moment she asked herself that, she took her first step back. What would her mother, father, sister, brother, grandfather think of her? What about Aki? Would he be mad? And Inu-Yasha, how hurt would he be to know she had been with his hated brother? And Shippo who wanted nothing more than for her to be around? _'No!' _She cried in her head, _'this is __my__ life not theirs and I want this more than anything!' _With no further hesitation Kagome ran past Sesshomaru into the darkness of his mansion. A second later he came in and closed the door behind him; everything was so dark, she could barely see the outline of the furniture, but with the loss of her sight, every other sense was enhanced. She heard his light footsteps, smelled the scent that only belonged to him; her heart beat so hard, she was so nervous.

"Looks like everything stayed the same, but then again, I barely see anything."

She laughed pathetically, but everything within her became very still when she felt him approach her from behind; his hand came around and settled into the curve of her waist. Without warning she was yanked to him where his mouth found the shell of her ear.

"It's not polite to keep others waiting for so long."

He whispered and greedily took her mouth in with his; he backed her up until she felt the cold wall against her. The demon wedged her legs apart with his knee so he could feel her heat on his leg; she was hot, hotter than he expected a woman like her to be. The miko felt the fire being stoked within her and she couldn't slow it down for anything; small hands pushed at his suit desperate to get at his skin, the material fell to the floor. Clawed hands ran up and down, feeling the perfection of her curves, the flawlessness of her body. She seemed so small compared to him, so fragile, yet he couldn't keep his hands off. They moved, caressed, traced, mapped all of their own accord and he took it all in.

Impatient, she ground her hips against his and his breath came out in a hiss. Delicate hands felt around the clothing, trying to find some exposed skin, she found his hands instead. They were running up and down her thighs, grasping his left hand lightly, she stopped his movement, he allowed her to lead his hand to the edge of her shirt and slipping some of the material into his fingers for him to grasp. He took control again and drew the shirt up and over her head; it fell forgotten next to his jacket; the wraps and padding were all in their perspective places, the small waist covered in padding, her chest uncomfortably flattened. Again, she took his hand and led it up to the very center of her chest.

"We were cut off last time. Why not pick up where we left off?"

He felt her heart pounding so hard within her chest, when he gripped the wraps he felt her heart accelerate in anticipation. In one swift yank the padding and wraps were torn away and fell to the carpet in shreds; he did it so fast, her body didn't even move. She blinked and they were gone; instinctively her hands came up and covered herself. She felt so sub-conscious with those eyes watching her, staring at her. The demon slowly shackled her wrists with one hand and caressed the side of her face with the other.

"Why do you hide yourself from me? Are you frightened?"

She turned her head away, but could not escape his gaze and the way it met hers even though she wasn't facing him. Her face was hot, his touch made her feel like she was going to burst into flames at any moment; the hand around her wrists slowly pulled them down and she didn't resist any longer. With her eyes shut tightly, the miko felt cool air hitting places that had never been exposed like this before; when nothing happened she cracked her eye open and looked at him. Those eyes immediately bore into hers and trapped her like a deer in the headlights.

"There's no need to turn away or hide yourself like that. You're beautiful."

Kagome gasped; when did he start saying such things? She saw his eyes lower to her full chest, flat stomach and small waist; he had never seen such perfection a human before. Without any further preamble he dove for her bare neck; the miko sucked in her breath as she felt her legs go weak. Her knees gave out on her, but the demon didn't let her fall, instead, he nearly rammed her into the wall and forced his knee to part her legs. She gave a cry for the roughness of the erotic act; her arms clung to him as his mouth kissed, nipped, and sucked every inch of exposed skin. He scrapped his fangs against her collarbone and dropped lower; she felt the silky bangs brush against her skin just under her collarbone.

Her breathing came in short gasps, this can't be happening, this a dream… that's it, she's dreaming and any second now she'll be waking up alone. His mouth enclosed around her nipple and something within her broke free, screaming his name, the singer rocked her hips into his leg and arched her back. Her hands encircled his head and tangled her fingers in the sliver strands; where was her sanity when she needed it? She was lost, there was no way she would ever be found, forever lost in his touch. The miko felt the coolness of the wall against her bare back, it sent a shock wave running up and down her spine and she knew that no dream would make her feel like that. He was really here, this was really happening…

"Sesshomaru, what will it be like?"

She asked using all the focus she had left; he pulled away and wrapped his arms around her, it was strange for him to do that, but he needed her to be comfortable. The less comfy she was, the more she'll change her mind.

"I'm not sure; I've never been with someone quite like you."

She knew what he meant; he was never with a virgin, a first timer. It made her feel so inadequate to the other women he had been with, not to mention she was younger, nineteen and barely six years his junior; six years, that isn't a big difference is it? So many things swirled in her head it was making her dizzy; she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to force them out of her mind.

"What is running through that pea brain of yours little miko?"

The singer snapped her eyes open and all thoughts from before fled instantly; if this had been a normal situation, she would had said something in return, but this was far from a normal situation. She looked upon him with eyes glazed over with desire.

"I don't know anymore."

She whispered in admission; everything was mixed up, her whole body felt like it was burning, she was entering unfamiliar territory, instincts were failing her and yet, Sesshomaru seemed perfectly calm, he was the foundation for her, a final thread for her to grasp as he took control. The demon knew she wouldn't do anything without his guidance, who could blame her? This was something completely opposite to her norm and in truth this was slightly new for him too, but like hell he was going to show it. With his demon strength he lifted her up with ease so their eyes were almost level.

"Wrap your legs around my waist."

He said subtly, but there was an air of impatience to him and that feeling was increased when she wrapped herself around him resting the heat of her core ever so closely to his groin. She felt his desire for her tightly in his jeans and the thought made her head swim, she didn't even know who she was anymore, the Kagome she used to be would never have done anything like this. Why did Sesshomaru have to take that part of her and leave behind this seductress, this little woman who cried out for more? She heard his steps as they made their way to his bedroom; she felt the beating of his heart and the warmth of his body. Never had she felt such protection from one person before, for the first time she felt completely safe.

She couldn't see where they heading, but saw them going deeper into the hallway before he made a right and went into his room. He gently lowered her onto his bed and a shiver ran down her spine when cool silk sheets touched her bare back; the miko never took her eyes off him as he followed her down to the bed, but before that he removed his shirt. She couldn't look away from the perfection of his body, she saw the demonic markings on his wrists and how they wrapped around his forearm, how he was muscular but not gaudy, could there really be such flawlessness all in one person? She felt the mattress sink from his weight as he climbed on top of her; his face was above hers, silver hair spilled on both sides creating a screen of silk strands.

"Sesshomaru…"

She whispered his name as he bent down and kissed her neck, she felt his hands everywhere, tracing the curves of her body, pausing once only when his hand felt the material of her baggy jeans. Since they were already loose it wasn't difficult to slid the coarse material off her; the demon was slightly surprised to see her wearing boxers, then again, she was impersonating a guy so she had to look the part in every way. An upside to her wearing such loose undergarments was that they were easy to slide into as he demonstrated with his hand disappearing inside the cotton clothing. The air left her lungs as brown eyes grew wide; small hands gripped the sheets below her tightly. She felt his claws lightly scrape an area that had never been touched before and she found herself arching her hips to get more of that skilled hand. He smirked against the softness of her neck and slowly, torturously slid his hand away taking the boxers with it until they fell to the floor. She didn't realize at first that she was naked until he pulled away and glanced down, she followed his gaze and gasped, quickly crossing her legs.

"I can't do much with your legs like that."

He stated confidently, but she didn't unlock them so he tried a different approach. The writer brought his head down to the shell of her ear and fanned warm air across it.

"Relax…"

He whispered in that sensual voice, she sucked in her breath; his hand caressed her skin, encouraging her to uncross her legs. The room began to spin, her mind was in a daze; the heat from her body made her think the bed was going to burst into flames at any moment.

"Relax…"

He said again and a shiver ran up and down her spine, she felt it from the top of her head all the way down to her toes. She didn't fully realize that she had loosened her grip until his hands began touching places that were closed off a few seconds earlier.

"Relax…"

She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, the only thing that anchored her sanity was his voice saying the same thing over and over. The more he spoke, the more she listened to his words until he had her legs uncrossed, but still pressed together.

"Let me in Kagome."

That did it. She gasped, the way he said her name it was like hearing it for the first time and what he said had her heart pounding beyond control. Without any further preamble, she relinquished her control to him, something she had never done before and he was careful not to abuse it. He eased her legs apart and ran his finger tips up and down the inside of her thigh; his touch was like a brand and she felt it everywhere his hands went. All five senses were heightened to the point of demon capabilities; her skin was sensitized, reacting to anything that touched it, she heard the raggedness of her breathing, the sound of the sheets bristling as they moved, saw his beautiful face, inhaled his intoxicating scent, and tasted his kiss in her mouth.

Everything was so elevated for her; she thought nothing of her dizziness until she heard a third voice in the room.

"_I'm not mad Kagome, I'm just… disappointed."_

'_Father?'_ She thought as his voice filled the room, the ceiling above her spun and she closed her eyes to hopefully stop it, instead a blurred memory came to mind. She saw the hazy outline of her father, felt the sickening drop in her stomach, the kind that made one throw up from anguish.

"_You were the last person I expected to do such a thing."_

Her breathing became ill-regular, his words were breaking her heart, it stung worse than a bee's sting; Sesshomaru must have noticed her change when he stopped his actions and looked up at her; the same pain he had seen when his brother brought her in and when he mentioned her scar reared its ugly head once more.

"Father no wait! Please let me explain!"

She cried out the same words from the foggy memory, she heard a vase breaking, ceramic shards flying everywhere, heard the angered cry of her great-grandfather, the head of the Higurashi clan. The demon brought himself back up to her face, her eyes were sealed shut, but even though she couldn't see she must have felt him, but she made no indication that she was aware of his presence. Her body twisted this way and that, like she was in pain, but didn't dare touch the areas that suffered.

"_You knew the sacred laws Kagome."_

She saw his figure turn his back on her and walk away with deep shame. She saw herself getting up and running madly towards him.

"No Father wait! Father please! I'm sorry! Please come back! Father! FATHER!"

And then there was darkness, all around her the subtle whispers of her family members.

"_It's your fault…"_

"No."

"_It's your fault…"_

"No."

"_It's your fault…"_

"No!"

"_It's! Your! Fault!"_

"NO!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs as pain erupted from her head; it hurt, it hurt so much, she couldn't stand it! Where was the end?! Where was the light at the end of the tunnel?! She felt someone's arms around her, trying to keep her from hurting herself, but she didn't want the touch. With all her might she fought against the person holding her, the pain in her head and in her heart was intolerable and he was making it worse.

"It's not! It's not my fault!"

She thrashed against him, but he wouldn't loosen his grip. She wanted him off; she didn't want to be touched, why couldn't he see that? In an act of desperation she sent a burst of her spiritual power and instantly the hands flew off her, the weight left the bed as he backed against the wall, hissing in pain and displeasure. He watched as she convulsed, her power flaring out wildly before everything went still as the darkness consumed her consciousness. The blue flames that consumed her dissipated and her body relaxed even though there was the pain filled expression marring what was supposed to be a peaceful look. Something was up, he knew it, these little memory flashbacks were more troublesome than he had first thought.

"Strange how her attacks always happen at times like this."

He mused and gave an agitated sigh; her unintentional attack was a real turn off so he was able to approach her without his hormones going haywire. He picked her up naked as she was and carried her to her room and set her gently in her own bed; the pain seemed to be ebbing away as her expression relaxed. A sudden noise almost made him jump, turning around he followed the sound back to his room and discovered its source in Kagome's pants pocket. It was her cell phone, the little thing stopped vibrating and its screen flashed: 20 missed calls, 19 new voice- _flash_- 20 new voicemails. He flipped it open and saw all twenty calls were from the same phone: Aki's. The demon growled at the sight of the half-phoenix's name, the hanyou could wait, Kagome was _his_ tonight.

* * *

"When did this start happening?"

An elderly voice demanded and a much younger one quickly responded.

"About half and hour ago my lord."

The old man shuffled as quickly as his aging bones would allow him with a troubled look marring his features, the boy beside him couldn't have been seventeen; both were dressed in priest robes and passed through many rooms, traveling deeper and deeper into the core of the Higurashi main house. They came to two shoji doors guarded by three priests, upon seeing the old man their eyes grew wide and they quickly dropped to the floor and bowed low to him.

"Get up already! This is no time for formalities!"

He said sharply and they stuttered their apologies and rose up to open the doors for him. Inside was a large room in the shape of an octagon and well over forty of the Higurashi's youngest and finest offspring. In the very center of the room glowing with excited power was the Sacred Jewel; there were two rings of spiritualists around the Tama, the inside one, closest to the Jewel were the girls and on the outside were the boys. The Higurashi's figured out long ago that the Jewel had more of a response to their priestesses rather than their priests; there was only one priest who ever purified it and he was long since dead.

The head of the Higurashi's knew something was up the moment he stepped into the room; the priestesses' breathing was irregular, their faces flushed, bodies shaking; some were pulled to the side because their reaction was so strong they were moaning and convulsing. The girls did not seem to be in agony or stressed, quite the contrary, they appeared to be in a state ecstasy; some girls pulled at their clothes, trying to remove them, while others caressed themselves like an invisible hand was feeling its way across their skin. A few were trying to fight to stay at their posts and focus, but with the growing redness across their cheeks becoming more prominent it was very obvious that they were losing the battle. Even a few guys were feeling the Tama's effects, but no where near as strong as the girls'. Horrified the old man turned to one of the priests who was unaffected.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

He demanded and the small monk jumped.

"We-we do-don't know milord! About half an hour ago the Tama began reacting to… _something_ and-and the priestesses began t-to cry, it calmed down for a while a-and then shortly before you came _this_ started happening!"

The boy was visibly shaking in fear of the old man before him; it was never good when the aging priest had to come down to the Shikon no Tama's chamber. Dulling eyes narrowed at the Jewel's aura, he had seen this light once before, but this time it was much stronger, a reaction so intense even _he_ began feeling its effects. He stared at it when in an instant its aura changed, once a light pink, swirls of tainted black slithered across it. It started when one miko suddenly screamed in pain, clutching her head; all watched in horror as she dropped and writhed on the wooden floor in pain. One by one all the priestesses jerked like they had just been shot and fell to the floor in the same agony; the room was filled with their screams and everyone was at a loss, the priests left their posts to take care of their girls when a withered old hand stopped them short.

"Return to where you were! The Jewel cannot go unpurified! Leave the women be, they will last."

It was hard to imagine such harshness could be contained inside one man, but they could put nothing past their lord. None could focus clearly when the cries of those they cared about filled their ears and tore at their hearts; it was a sickening sight, most could not stand to keep their eyes open. Then there was silence, a moment of stillness passed before anyone dared to move in fear that something might explode, but nothing happened. The men looked around and saw that every single priestess had fallen unconscious; with his cane in hand the lord stepped into the inner circle where the bodies of his young girls lay. He poked, prodded, nudged, and turned over every single one of them studying what had transgressed before walking out of the circle to one the guards who had just come through the door.

"What do you think it is milord?"

Cruel eyes stared out at nothing.

"Even after two years of separation the Sacred Jewel is still connected with its last owner."

* * *

Kagome opened her eyes to sunlight shining through her window slowly and carefully she sat up allowing the sheets to fall around her. Glancing to her right she saw Sesshomaru standing in her doorway peering at her, his eyes scanning her up and down and she was confused as to why until she looked down herself.

"EEK! Sesshomaru get out you pervert!"

She was still naked and with the sheets pooling at her waist so he saw everything from the hips up in broad daylight. The singer scrambled to cover herself with the blankets, but the damage had already been done and the demon smirked.

"What's with all the modesty? It's not like I haven't seen it before."

She growled, ripped one the blankets off her bed and wrapped it around her, got out of bed and marched up to him.

"Where are my clothes? My wraps?"

She demanded and he shrugged.

"Oh here and there, in the living room, the hallway… _my bedroom_."

The way he said that last part had her feminine core clenching in anticipation, the way his eyes roamed over hers, she could feel it all over and it made her knees weak, the scent of him was intoxicating, she had to resist the urge to fall into his arms. His every presence made her dizzy, she had to steady herself while trying to remember what had happened the night before.

"Hey, we didn't like… you know… _do it_, did we?"

She asked, struggling to find the right words; his eyes darkened for a moment and she was fearful of what he was going to say, but in a flash it was gone.

"Fortunately or unfortunately, whichever you prefer, you went into a… tantrum and fainted before anything life altering could happen."

She didn't know whether to be sad or relieved; nothing truly happened last night, for him at least, for her it was the most amazing night of her life. She looked around a bit, trying to find some inspiration for words.

"So… does this mean I can stay then?"

Sensing a change in subject the writer turned around and began to walk away.

"If that is what you want."

Was all he said before returning to the solace of his office leaving her stunned by his words. She blinked a few times trying to remember everything that happened last night; the foggy haze began to clear as she recalled what lead up to the previous night's events. She remembered it all, the resolve she had to be with him, how he treated her with such wanting and gentleness she never expected from the demon, the way she so willingly crawled into bed with him, and the pain of the memory. There was only one glitch, one memory lapse that night: she knew she remembered something important last night, but for the life of her she couldn't remember it now.

Sighing in defeat and frustration she flopped back down on the bed with the sheet wrapped around her; closing her eyes she flashbacked to the night with her demon. Heat rushed to her face as she recalled the way he stripped her down to nothing, his touch, his kiss, those eyes that wouldn't let go. She bit her lip and squirmed in the blanket, the event was so fresh she remembered every thing he touched and how he touched it. He was torturing her and they both knew it, but she didn't mind it as much as she thought she would and that puzzled her. They were in a relationship, a sexual, intimate, and at times dangerous relationship, yet it didn't bother her; where was the guilt she though she would feel for her family's sake? She searched for it, but found none; had Sesshomaru gotten so deep inside her that she was no longer tied to her family laws?

No, but she was breaking them and she would do it again, every chance she got to see him was another time she would break the Higurashi's sacred laws of love or lack there of. Kagome was almost a participant in an act that was the most forbidden of all laws next to the no marriage tradition: unity, taking two bodies and in the heat of passion making them one. Her elders had portrayed sex as a low, vile, barbaric, disgusting, inhuman act not fit for the pure and innocent priestesses to engage in. There were stories of young female spiritualists who had sex and lost their power; when she was young that story sold her on the idea of dying a virgin, even if it wasn't real she would never do anything that might compromise her spiritual power, next to singing it was what she was, what defined her as a person.

"Could I give that up for him?"

The elders had went so far as to say that even kissing one of the opposite sex would rid them of their power, but she had kissed Aki and she still stood strong with all of her abilities intact. So if they lied about kissing, did they lie about sex too? Groaning, she rolled to her side and curled up into a ball; what was more important to her, her family values or Sesshomaru? Not wanting to think about it anymore she picked her phone up off the floor and saw the battery was dead, _'Strange, I charged it before I left.'_ Now the guilt decided to hit her, she knew what drained her battery and the guilt that came was smothering, but she deserved it all. The band was probably worried sick about her; she lied to them so she could have her night with Sesshomaru.

"Damn it! Why didn't I call them after they left?!"

Then again her mind was a little distracted with the demon's offer and that only made her feel worse, she had to face them and tell them that after everything Sesshomaru did and the lengths they went to help, she was going to move back in with him. Koga and Miroku wouldn't be so bad; Inu-Yasha would probably faint again. But what of Aki who was willing to risk his life to avenge her broken heart? And poor Shippo, she promised to be there for him, be the mother he never had, but now she would practically abandon him. This was turning out to be a very bad day and she didn't even leave her room yet. She dressed solemnly by back tracking through all the rooms, blushing every now and then by how strewn her clothes were, how her wraps got tangled with his shirt and remembering how they got that way.

"You're quiet this morning, I thought you went back to sleep."

Her eyes shot up to glare at his.

"After remembering last night, how can I possibly go back to sleep?"

He smirked.

"That unforgettable am I?"

She rolled her eyes, turned her back, and bent down to pick up her sock; he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her in the bent position pressed against him. She froze as need slammed into her and had her heart pounding all over again; his head dropped down, soft lips close to her ear.

"If you didn't have such a fit last night, I would have already had you this way, minus the clothes."

Her heart beat so loudly, she felt the pounding in her ears and entire body vibrated to one chaotic pulse. He kissed the back of her neck as his hands roamed up her shirt, claws scrapping lightly against the soft skin beneath. If he wasn't holding her up, she would have collapsed on the spot; the singer writhed at his touch as electricity shot up and down her spine.

"Bastard."

She hissed through clenched teeth; for God's sake they were in the kitchen _'Then again, the counter tops and the table's height is just right… stop it! Damn it! You're not supposed to be thinking about this right now!'_ She attempted to pull away, but he wouldn't let her; he pulled at the knots and the wraps came apart with ease, her constricted breasts spilled free and he was quick to catch them in his impatient hands.

"You left me hanging last night, redemption is in order."

He kneaded the soft skin and she moaned in response, pressing her hips into his; she was losing her awareness of everything around her, felt her resolve to not go too deep fading, _'I could be a few minutes late… or hours… hours sounds better… NO! Get a grip! Get in focus! Oh my God get my pants off!'_ She cried in her head and moved to take off her jeans when one of his preoccupied hands slipped away and grabbed the zipper, preventing her from removing it. Looking over her shoulder she gave him a needy look, but he shook his head.

"We're going at my pace my way."

She growled, something very unlike her, but he reveled in it; the demon kissed the back of her neck and any other exposed skin. Regardless of what he said, she still gave in; her head spun as he slowly rocked his hips back and forth against her creating a friction that drove her nuts, once again she tried to remove her pants to try to take back a little control, but once again he stopped her.

"My pace little miko, my pace."

He reminded her in a tone of an adult reminding a child and she huffed, but her anger didn't last long. He lifted her up so she was standing straight, her back pressing against his chest; instinctively her hands came up and wrapped around his neck. His hands were everywhere, she couldn't keep track, but she knew where they had been by the little flames licking at her skin wherever he touched.

"You have a slow pace."

She rasped, arching her back as he grabbed her breasts once more; he smirked against her neck, nuzzling his way up to her ear, teeth bit lightly on her lobe as warm air from his mouthed fanned her ear; the vocalist could feel his smirk on her skin.

"Perhaps there is a reason for me to go slow… you are a beginner after all and there's so much I have to teach you."

She bit her lower lip the fire building up inside her made her feel like bursting into tears at any moment.

"I'm a fast learner."

She offered half-joking; he dropped his hands and caressed the juncture of her legs; her eyes went wide as she took his hands in hers pressing them closer to her throbbing core, but he used one hand to lock her wrists and with the other he kept doing the same sweet torture.

"Oh I have no doubt about that."

He undid the buttons and slowly slid the zipper down, she quickly shifted to lower her jeans, but he held her still enjoying every minute of her anxiousness. A clawed hand slipped beneath her boxers and cupped her; she moaned bending back, her hips slowly rocking back and forth. He couldn't help but react to the sounds coming from her; she was burning up, her pulse accelerating at every kiss, every touch, and every word. His body tensed at everything she did, her hands needy and impatient, quick to try to remove her clothes had him becoming impatient as well. Sesshomaru felt her core pulsing and creating its own wetness to prepare itself for him and just when he was about to give in he heard the distinctive sound of a car pulling up to his gate. One glace at the clock made him sneer, _'Right on time.'_

"Your ride has arrived."

He stated and pulled away from her; no longer having him to support her she toppled to the floor in a daze. Kagome looked up at him stunned, did she hear correctly? Did he just push her away? Ride? What ride? There was a stinging pain her heart when she looked up into his eyes and she knew he shoved her away on purpose, another part was in pain as well, but not for the same reasons. Her body cried out for his touch and did not like that sweet pleasure being abruptly cut off; he looked down upon her, her aroused scent still came off her in waves and he left himself loosing to his instincts, but he held strong.

"I called you a cab while you were collecting your scattered clothes."

She slowly rose to her feet as realization dawned on her.

"You planned… _that_?!"

She motioned around the kitchen and what had transpired; he nodded her head and came closer to her very confident about himself.

"I told you that punishment was in order for what _you _did to me last night."

Her mouth opened to spout a retort when in the blink of an eye he was behind her again, his arms around her as his head dropped down to hers.

"It's time for you to go to work. I'll be here for you when you get home and I'll be waiting."

All the anger from before dissipated in his arms and she relaxed against him when suddenly she felt a small breeze and noticed that he was no longer behind her and the kitchen was empty. With a sigh she grabbed the toast that was sitting on the table and walked out the door.

"I envy you Sesshomaru for your ability to turn your back on _that_ so easily."

She ran down to the now irritated cab driver and climbed in checking to make sure that all of her wraps and pads were in place. The vocalist had to breathe deeply to clear her head and release the stress that she felt coming on from what she was to expect from the band; dread filled her every pore when Tohma Studios came into view. When the cabby stopped, he turned and looked at her for the first time and she saw his eyes grow wide.

"Hey aren't you the singer for that new band oh what was the name… oh well, I don't care, but my daughter loves your music."

She flashed a nervous smile and pulled out her close to empty wallet.

"Really? Why it's such an honor to meet the parents of one of my fans."

She counted her money and froze realizing she didn't have enough, damn that Sesshomaru not even giving her so much a one yen for cab fare _'Should I run? I'm pretty fast and if I leave now while there's a big crowd…_' The man noticed her dismal funds and thought for a moment.

"You won't have to pay a cent if I can have an autograph for my little girl."

"Deal."

She quickly responded before he could possibly change his mind; reaching into her bag and pulled out a pink Hello Kitty note pad and a fuzzy purple pen. The cab driver raised his eyebrows at the objects and she stared him down.

"You know it takes a real man to carry these things around in his bag."

She signed her name and the cabby gave her a strange look.

"Depends on what kind of man…"

He mumbled as she handed him the bright pink paper, scrawled in slightly messy penmanship was a very feminine looking first name, no last though. He was about to object when he saw that the singer was no longer in the back, but sprinting at top speed to the door.

"Damn celebrities… cheat their way out of everything."

Kagome looked back to see the cab drive away and she sighed, that was a close one. Kagome's last name was a well kept secret since its ancient lineage would sure draw curious reporters to confront her relatives about it; no one in her family knew she was in a band or was masquerading as a guy. If they ever found out, it would bring such dishonor and embarrassment to her family and she couldn't do that to them. With a tense sigh she stepped into the building and made her way to the elevator closest to their studio. Time slowed to a crawl as she made her way up to the band's floor; by the time the elevator stopped she was already pacing across the short room, contemplating whether running up the stairs was faster.

When the doors finally opened her was slow to step out, her anxiety from before built up and the vocalist now took her time walking to the door. Kagome stood in front of the door and hesitated when she grabbed the knob; what would she say? The truth obviously, but she was afraid of their rejection of her relationship; they had every right to protest, all their sacrifices for her gone to waste. Shutting her eyes tightly and preparing herself for the worst she flung the door open and stepped inside; silence met her and she cracked an eye open. The studio was empty, but scanning the room she saw a hunched figure in the corner, even in the darkness those piercing gold eyes stood out.

"You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do Kagome."

She nodded and Inu-Yasha rose to his feet with a look of distaste; the singer looked up at him almost ready to burst into tears and drop to her knees; guilt and dread wracked her body, made her knees shake and covered her palms in a cold sweat.

"We stayed up waiting for you; when you didn't come back Aki left to look for you and when he came back alone we were worried as hell. Everyone went looking for you, I stayed behind here in case you came back like last time and my assumptions were correct."

He looked away for a moment unable to make eye contact with her. She was silent, not bothering to defend or explain herself and his frustration at her grew.

"Why did you run back to him?! _Him_ of all people! Are you that weak—"

He caught his rant and stopped it by taking a deep breath; he glanced and saw her flinch slightly at the last statement and dropped her head in shame. Quickly composing himself, he rubbed the back of his neck and thought of the right thing to say to make up for his little mistake.

"I saw how deeply he hurt you Kagome and I know he'll do it again. We're not that angry we're just… worried about you."

He took two fingers and lifted up her chin; he saw her eyes watering and knew this was hard for her.

"I'm so sorry Inu-Yasha, but I can't… I tried to get over him, but then he invited me back to live with him. I was in too deep… I couldn't say no."

The half-demon stiffened for a moment as his eyes grew wide.

"_He invited you back?!_"

His shock only fed her denial of last night, but regardless she nodded her head as her eyes found a spot on the floor.

"Yes."

He didn't like how quiet her voice was and he sighed, turning away and pulling out his cell phone before doing something to her that he would regret.

"He is the last person I ever expected to allow a human live in his home… oh well, I better let the search party know you're here, they'll want to hear this too."

It wasn't long until Koga showed up, drenched in sweat from running around Tokyo, like he was asked over the phone he waited until everyone was at the studio before asking questions. Miroku came in almost immediately followed by Shippo.

"Ah Kagome we spent all night searching for you…"

He swooned over dramatically and aimed to fall in her lovely arms, but Shippo swerved and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Kagome-sama!"

He cried and leapt into her while the monk fell to the floor clutching his side, _'That little fox…'_ He glowered as the singer hugged him back and he sniffed, _'That was supposed to be my hug!'_ Aki was the last to arrive and when he walked into the room he didn't even look at her as he took his seat. Her feeling of guilt doubled and she almost collapsed on the spot. How was she going to them, tell Aki?

"They're waiting Kagome; don't make the situation worse by putting it off."

The deadpan voice of Inu-Yasha made her heart stutter and she bit her lower lip,_ 'Just say it… come on hurry up and say it. Open up your traitorous mouth and say it!' _Her lips parted, but no matter what she did, her voice would not come. _'Just say it! Just say it!'_ She shut her eyes tightly.

"I'm going to live with Sesshomaru!"

She yelled the moment a small bit of her came back, but she never meant for it to be that loud and she was thankful that their new door was sound proof. There was a moment of stillness in everyone, seconds might have ticked by, but they felt like hours. The miko peeked one eyes open and found all of them staring at her, even Aki with his eyes wide. Before the explosion could happen the silver-haired drummed appeared from his dark corner.

"Now that that's said we're all going on a little field trip."

He pulled out the keys to his motorcycle and started to head out the door grabbing her arm on the way out.

"Kagome, you're riding with me."

He didn't bother to look back, he knew they were going to follow and when she turned around stumbling slightly from his fast pace she saw them one by one exit all looking like they were headed to a funeral.

"I can't believe I'm… _we're_ loosing her again."

Shippo mumbled and quickly corrected himself with Aki right behind him.

"No Shippo…"

He said quietly looking at the back of her head and meeting her eyes when she turned around; his face was expressionless, like stone.

"… we lost her a long time ago."

* * *

Sesshomaru heard the motor of the bike before he saw it in his driveway. He was a little surprised that his brother was dropping her off knowing that she was going to live here again, but his surprise was mixed with confusion as another motorcycle drove up and then a car. Six figures stood out in front of his gate and gathered around, five of them surrounded the smallest one of the bunch… Kagome. For a few minutes they all stood there talking and, judging their hands gestures and expressions, arguing; he left to go confront them when his doorbell rang. The writer opened the door saw his miko standing by herself, her head was drooped like she didn't deserve to lift it. Not as bad as he expected, with a smirk he stepped aside and held out his hand.

"Welcome home."

Suddenly the five figures he saw earlier jumped out from their hiding places and marched one by one into his house.

"Thanks."

Shippo said with a smiled and slipped off his shoes before passing the stunned demon.

"Oh nice place, it could use a blessing and you're in luck Takahashi I just happen to be a very skilled monk."

Miroku commented as he scanned the room while pulling his monk attitude sensing the aura around him when Inu-Yasha shoved past the pervert.

"Keh, he's let this place go. For a neat freak you sure do have a lot of little messes Sesshomaru."

Aki entered silently and gave the dog demon a glare of absolute hatred as he walked past; Kagome was the last to step inside as she joined her band in the living room. He left the door open and tried to suppress his growing rage as he walked as calmly as possible into the room where Bad Luck had gathered.

"I did not realize that Higurashi planned on taking her work home with her."

He stared down at her and she averted her eyes, but the band members were by her side as Shippo pulled her in close, wrapping his arm around her neck.

"Well since Kagome's going to live with you now…"

The fox began and right on cue Koga continued the sentence.

"… there are some things we want to discuss with you."

The wolf placed his hand on her shoulder as Miroku took over.

"You see, we're very fond of Kagome…"

He stood beside her just when Inu-Yasha spoke up.

"… so if you break her heart…"

The fox took over again, smiling brightly.

"… we'll break your legs."

Aki loomed behind them, the dark cloud unseen by the rays of sunshine in front of it. Sesshomaru stood there and after a moment lit a cigarette.

"I don't make deals with the likes of you."

Inu-Yasha chuckled for a moment and stepped away from the singer and drew in close to his older brother; gold met gold and sparks flew.

"Oh it's no deal…"

Shippo suddenly appeared behind him catching him off guard, the youkai didn't even sense his presence. The fox hovered over the author's shoulder like a bad omen.

"… it's a promise."

That same sweet smile was still on his face, but he saw right through it to the dark intent, the jealousy and hatred that burned deep. Before he could do anything to the fox someone piped up and interrupted his plans or torture to the little thing that dared to threaten him.

"Well we better head out; Kagome why don't you see us to the gate?"

The hanyou suggested, that voice was too sugar coated to be sincere and the demon's eyes narrowed. They were up to something; even Kagome seemed to be clued in. She quietly nodded her head and left with the four guys; only Aki remained, his dull bronze colored eyes had never left the demon. When everyone was gone he approached him.

"You're going to hurt her again, I know it. I don't need the gift of foresight to predict that."

Gold eyes narrowed as he put out his cigarette and blow out the last puff of smoke.

"Is that so?"

The half-phoenix drew in close with eyes that promised death, but the author did not seem to be in the least bit intimidated by the hanyou.

"And when you do I'm going to make you relive the time when Kagome broke, the time she can't remember."

The demon smirked and lit another cancer stick.

"Speaking of lost memories she had another one of her episodes last night."

Aki froze for a moment and his eyes darkened.

"I take it from your look that she hasn't told you yet. It was such a shame, right in the middle of when things were getting good."

A growl escaped through the hanyou's lips before her could stop it, the uncontrollable rage from before boiled and festered within him and it was beginning to spill out. Electricity crackled in the air, the hair on the youkai's neck rose in anticipation of Aki's next move. Fangs and claws grew and the dulled bronze eyes lightened to their natural shade of gold.

"You're lying! Kagome would never do such a thing! She's too innocent!"

Sesshomaru sneered and took a drag.

"That little vixen is far from innocent, inexperienced might be the correct word, but not innocent. She was practically begging me last night."

The hanyou snapped.

"YOU BASTARD!"

He cried at the top of his lungs and lunged, his fist pulled back ready to deliver a lethal blow when a barrier stopped him dead; he turned to see Kagome standing in the doorway, her hand held out and coated with the same blue flames that separated him and the dog.

"I told you once before Aki not to fight over me."

He was stunned by her words; how could she?! His demon was obviously taking advantage of her! Using her like a piece of meat! Why was she acting like _he_ was an enemy?! He studied her face and he remembered what Sesshomaru said earlier and a hurt look etched into his features.

"Di-did you really crawl into bed with him already?"

She froze and the spiritual barrier she had built up collapsed and his heart sunk.

"I see…"

He said quietly and stepped away from the demon and walked out the door, but paused for a moment as he passed her.

"I wish you two happiness."

He gave her a formal bow and never before had Aki been so distant, he never bowed to her and it brought tears to her eyes. She reached out to touch him, but he swiftly turned and left. When they were finally alone the writer put out his cigarette and came over to her; his left arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in.

"Now that those nuisances are gone…"

She pulled away from him before he could finish.

"I need to be alone."

The vocalist said quietly and locked herself in her room; there was nothing familiar in her room since all of her belongings were back at the apartment again which meant that she would have to go back there and make the move even worse for the guys as she packs up her stuff and leaves. She curled up on her bed and smothered her face in her pillow; the look on Aki's face when he found out that she was intimate with Sesshomaru… she couldn't get it out of her mind, it burned into her corneas.

* * *

"Hey brat!"

Kagome cracked her eyes open, but quickly shut them when the sunlight from her window shone in her eyes.

"Whhaaaaattt?"

She whined and he pulled the covers off of her.

"If you want to work I suggest getting out of bed now. You're ride is here."

She opened her eyes a second time and this time they were bulging.

"WHAT?!"

She flew out of bed and ran to the second story balcony window and spotted the tiny red dot of Inu-Yasha's motorcycle.

"Shit!"

The miko sprinted down the stairs and back into her room where the demon was still standing.

"Dammit Sesshomaru why didn't you wake me?!"

He scoffed and moved aside and she scrambled to brush her hair and teeth at the same time.

"It's not my job, but I woke you up anyway out of the kindness of my own heart."

She spat out the toothpaste and growled.

"I meant why didn't you wake me an hour ago?!"

He raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Breathe brat you're foaming at the mouth."

She wiped away the toothpaste and glared at him.

"Oh shut up!"

The miko snapped and shoved past him, but a clawed hand shot out and stopped her short. She turned back, but before she could say anything he pulled her close and wrapped his around her concealed form.

"If you expect me to just let a flustered little thing like you walk away without any repercussions, you are sorely mistaken."

He bent down and took her mouth with his molding them and moving them desperately, roughly, erotically. Her head spun and she had to cling to him to stay standing; need slammed into her so fast, but she had to fight it.

"You're quite the catch when you're angry."

She blushed and reluctantly pulled away; her knees were weak and her body cried out for his, but she managed to make it to the door without collapsing.

"I-I have to-to go. I-I'll be back at the usual time."

She looked at him once before dashing out of the room and to a very impatient Inu-Yasha and drove away; in her rush she did not notice the pair of sickly eyes watching her from a safe distance.

* * *

"It's about time you got here!"

Koga cried in exasperation, to Kagome's shock everyone appeared normal, Aki hardly seemed bothered by last night's events, even though he hesitated to look at her and that was a great improvement. The wolf walked over to her, but stopped himself short and sniffed the air around her. The biggest blush appeared on his face as he backed as far away as possible from her, clutching his nose.

"What's wrong?"

She asked and sniffed herself, looking at Inu-Yasha she noticed that he too had a blush on his face, his head turned slightly away from her with the sleeve of his shirt covering his nose as well. Shippo was against the wall too and Aki's eyes grew wide.

"Kagome did you forget to put on your perfume today?"

He asked, his voice was shaking slightly as the redness crept up on his face. Only Miroku was unaffected by whatever was bugging the guys

"Yeah, but what's wrong? D-do I smell?"

She sniffed herself again and took a step, the moment her legs parted all those of demon blood stiffened.

"Dammit don't move an inch!"

She stopped and looked around, now the drummer was glued to the wall abandoning her side. Aki cautiously approached her, but Koga and his lack of politeness beat Aki to the explanation.

"Of course you smell! You're freaking turned on and we know it!"

The miko blushed like crazy and pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Wha-what?!"

Aki looked away, his head moved in various directions trying to find one that had the less potent scent.

"I assume you and Sesshomaru did something before you came here, we can smell you're… _need_ for him."

Inu-Yasha groaned.

"Oh God I need therapy."

He made a gagging motion and put his nose to the wall and she dropped to the floor, curling up into a little ball of misery.

"The humiliation! Aki why did you have to say that out loud?!"

He looked at her through to corner of his eyes failing to keep a straight face.

"It's sort of common knowledge to everyone but you."

Miroku smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Actually I was completely unaware of the situation, but I'm glad I was clued in, this is proving to be quite a story to tell my future children."

Shippo shuddered.

"My deepest condolences to the woman you knock up."

The monk shot a glare at the fox whom had pulled his shirt collar past his nose. Aki reached into his pocket and threw the vocalist a small bottle of his special concoction, she coated herself and the room and everyone visibly relaxed but Koga quickly excused himself from the room making sure to cover the front of his pants.

"Why did he leave like that? Do you still smell it?"

Shippo smirked weakly.

"I believe it was more or less to dunk his head in cold water."

She raised her eyebrows at that.

"Explain."

Shippo raised his hands up in surrender deeming himself too young for the conversation and good old Miroku, everyone's favorite lecher, took hold of the subject since he was now caught up.

"Well Kagome it's a very simple matter. You see demons are very sensitive to the smells around them. In your… wanton state the natural and primal needs of procreation of a demon surfaces and in order to avoid conflict he must excuse himself."

Realization hit her and her blushed turned darkened into a deep crimson.

"O-oh."

She stammered and turned away.

"God there are some things I really wish I don't ask."

* * *

"Welcome home brother."

Kagura smiled devilishly and bowed turning away to walk back to the room where the rest of Ask waited. They were at one of the unoccupied Onigumo vacation homes; this one was specialized in one of the fetishes the clan was notorious for: torture. This was a place of pain and suffering, of hopelessness where men who once stood tall groveled for an end. Many humans and demons were broken here, scandalous and compromising pictures and video content were used to control them; their dirty work added to the family fortune and high class, a pedestal built from so many ruined lives.

"You've been gone since the concert. We were worried something had happened to you."

Of course she wasn't; her words were about as real as a stripper's boobs. With a glare and no words said in return he followed her to the rest of the Onigumo family whom all waited with their breath held.

"Naraku, where have you been? We had everything ready, but you never showed."

Hakudoshi was the first to ask when the hanyou sat down on the leather couch, there was a hint of disappointment in the white haired demon. For a moment the hanyou was very quiet and so was everyone else; the look in his eye told them that he was contemplating something; ideas and thoughts swirled to form plots and schemes.

"I've been following the singer from Bad Luck since the performance. There are many things this Kagome is hiding; I couldn't approach him that night at the concert. He sensed me in the crowd and drove me out."

The wind witch sneered.

"That little boy? Naraku have you gone soft on us?"

He shot a look that promised retribution for her actions and she closed her mouth, but the arrogance did not leave her features. The half-demon turned back to look down at the table in front of him as he spoke again.

"He has immense spiritual abilities; it burned to go anywhere near him. I aborted the plan, trailed him and picked up some interesting information."

The white haired demon cousin to the half-breed narrowed his eyes.

"Like what?"

As if on cue he pulled out an envelope containing a roll of developed film and plopped the package on the table. With blinding speed Kagura snatched them and flipped through the pictures before anyone else could get their hands on one of them. Her garnet eyes grew wide and she nearly dropped them.

"Im-impossible! These can't be right!"

Her pure shock had Hakudoshi peering over her shoulder, but the half-demon snatched them away and slammed the photos on the table in from of him, they spread out from the point of impact; images frozen in time, images taken to ruin. He smirked the infamous Onigumo smirk.

"Oh I can assure you my dear sister that all these pictures are authentic and all will damage their reputations, but this one…"

He picked up the most damning photo of all and held it between his two clawed fingers.

"… is meant to kill. There's no excuse that can be made for this, no proper explanation. It is what it is and will annihilate Bad Luck… such a shame the poor writer has to be dragged into this."

The hanyou sneered and turned the paper around and around in his fingers.

"This is enough to kill, but I want this singer damned forever which means there's still some work that needs to be done."

The group was still recovering from their mild attacks; of course the wind sorceress was the first to open her mouth, a bad taste got in it, pulling her lips down into a glower

"From that look on your face it seems as if you've already got another idea in mind."

He smiled widely showing off a mouth full of fangs.

"Oh no my dear sister, not in mind. The wheels of this have already set in motion."

He set the image down on top of all the others; to someone who did not know the two in the photo, they would be moved by the sheer passion of it. A romantic scene preserved in ink of two figures alone at night under a single streetlight, embracing and kissing passionately. There was a second picture right next to it and the wind witch eyed it curiously.

"Naraku, did your hold on the camera slip when you took this one?"

A claw touched the picture and he picked it up while looking it over; his sneer widened. Such an odd photo when placed with the others, it was a close up of a single tree trunk, perfectly normal except what was carved into it, still glowing with blue spiritual power.

"No. This one was just as intentional as al the others and will come in handy soon enough."

He set it down next to the romance scene; both pictures went perfectly together, two lovers kissing passionately and a carving in a tree with the saying: _Love is as strong as death…_

"'As strong as death'? What bullshit."

She scoffed and stormed away; Naraku never revealed anything about his plans to her until it was necessary and this was one of the few times she was included and this is what he gave her?! 'As strong as death' what trash, she knew for a fact that nothing was stronger than death and when the plan was finally executed, so would the singer.

* * *

Another month had passed and Bad Luck's popularity had tripled since their last concert; it was no longer safe for them to be out and alone on the streets anymore since too many people had recognized them and Kagome was now the object of attention to many teenage girls and several guys. The constant persistence of them caused her to wear a disguise over her disguise. The guys had been acting rather strangely for the past several days; whenever she approached them they would quickly disband and give her inconsistent excuses for their secrecy. Miroku just about vanished during the band's off hours with the old I've-got-a-hot-date-tonight gag and wouldn't be seen for several hours and his hands were so sensitive he couldn't play with the rest of the band.

Kagome gave no sympathy to him writing it off as hand slaps from the many girls he grabbed, chased, and asked for their services; she was shocked to see that no one else held the same views as she did on the matter, in fact they sided with the lecher! Defended him when she condemned him for his perversion and took his side in the fights. She reached her breaking point after nearly a week of sneaking around, monk absences and no one saying a word about it. After catching them carrying a package she ran in front of them, blocking the exit with her hands and legs spread wide.

"Oh no you don't! I've had it with this! You are going to explain what's in that package and what's been going on right now!"

The guys exchanged looks and Aki who was now exposed as the ring leader sighed and grabbed her by the hand taking her back up to the studio. When they arrived Shippo closed and locked the door.

"We've got a present for you."

Koga stammered, unprepared as what to say, he nearly shoved the box in her hands and backed away, but Aki's hand rested on top of it before she could undo the wrapping.

"We know you've been struggling with being a guy and all and we knew it's been unfair on you to keep you this way so we decided to give you a break on the male façade and let you be Kagome again."

He took his hand off the top and she looked at their expectant faces shifting her gaze down to the poorly wrapped box; slowly the miko tore away the wrapping paper and pulled the lid off and at first she thought it was a gag gift until she picked it up and felt the familiar softness, it still had the faint scent of her shampoo. The wig was her own hair.

"Koga picked all of your hair up after we cut it, every single strand and was going to throw it away but Aki decided to save it."

Inu-Yasha gestured to the wolf who blushed sheepishly.

"Inu-Yasha bought that netting which is holding it together. It's the good kind, not the cheap ones you find in a thrift store."

Shippo said excitedly and the hanyou motioned to the kitsune.

"There are no bangs on the wig since we didn't cut yours and it was Shippo who sewed on the little pins that attach right behind your bangs. See? They hide under your real hair so no one will notice."

The drummer pointed out to the tiny, but strong pin and Aki jerked his thumb to the proud monk beside him.

"Miroku spent all his spare time this past week hand sewing all the individual hairs into the netting and testing them to make sure they were all securely fit; that's why his hands were so sore."

The priest held up his hands.

"These little babies can work their magic on more than the piano and the lovely ladies."

She looked at everyone; never had she felt so cared for and loved by anyone outside her family than she did with them. Holding the wig close to her she felt on the verge of tears again.

"And I was such an asshole you guys! I'm sorry and thank you so much!"

They laughed and comforted her.

"Hey you shouldn't be thanking all of us, we were just pawns, Aki was the one who came up with the whole thing."

Koga said she looked at the half-phoenix; he looked away with a slight blush growing across his features.

"You Aki? After everything I put you through? After everything I did?"

He smiled and rested his hand on her shoulder with a smile.

"Of course. You deserve happiness Kagome and if it's with him, I'll just have to get over it."

Tears sprang into her eyes and in a flash she leapt into him and wrapped her arms tightly around his middle.

"Thank you."

She said, her voice slightly muffled from hiding her face in his shirt and his heart jerked for a moment; the wound she had created was opening again and he needed to stop it before it became irreversible. Closing his eyes he held her for a few moments and his mind wandered to better times, the happier times when there was no demon between them, when Kagome was always by his side and he was always by hers… just like this.

"You're very welcome."

He said warmly and to everyone around them it seemed like heartfelt gratitude from a friend, but Inu-Yasha was the only one who saw it the way it really was, how the phoenix child really said it and his eyes narrowed that Aki's closeness until they parted. It was the redhead who pulled away, but it seemed like the hardest thing to do; with a huge smile on her face she gave him one last quick hug before dashing out the room to go try on her present. The drummer saw that same pain in the guitarist's eyes from the night he came home and found him crying, that same look of desolation, of absolute anguish. It was the hardest thing in the world to see Aki once again try to let go and fail miserably.

* * *

"I'm home!"

Kagome cried as she ran through the door, slamming it shut and sprinting past the demon reclining on the couch with a book in his hand, the pages fluttered by her wind when she passed. She couldn't believe the difference, it was almost too much to ask for; giggling like a school girl she ran into her room and locked the door. Once alone she pulled out a small box that contained a few feminine clothes and threw them on, a black tank top with a fading skull and cross bones, low riding jeans and a chain belt to go around her hips. She pulled out her wig and secured the edge right behind her bangs and took a good long look at herself in the full length mirror. The miko felt like she was looking at an old picture of herself, it had been so long since she actually got to see the natural curves of her body.

Reaching out the singer touched the surface of the mirror and never felt such happiness before; it was her old self looking back at her. No large shirts, baggy jeans, tight wraps, or unflattering padding; she was no longer Kagome of Bad Luck, but Kagome Higurashi the struggling singer and priestess. With a smile she turned away from the mirror and stepped out of her room, Sesshomaru was still on the couch, unmoving since her little entrance. His ears twitched when he heard her calm steps in the hallway and when they stopped short the demon glanced up and froze. The woman leaning against the wall was someone he didn't know, it took him a few moments to realize it was Kagome who standing there with a smile on her face looking very much like the seductress he knew she was.

"Hello Sesshomaru."

His expression did not change, but he had not moved since he looked up; she played with her now long hair again and threw the strand over her shoulder, something the singer sorely missed doing. With the tank top and form fitting jeans he saw every elegant curve of her body, how narrow her waist was and the wide pelvic V poking through the bottom of her short top and disappeared down the front of her jeans. With a smirk he put his book aside, rose to his feet, and sauntered over to her. One hand settled on the curve of her waist while the other ran its fingers through her silky strands.

"I think it's safe enough to take you outside now."

Partially distracted by the contact it took her mind a minute to register that he had said something.

"What do you mean?"

She looked up and him with glazed over eyes and he smirked. Taking her wrist he pulled her back down the hallway and into his room; releasing her hand he rummaged through his closet until he found the desired clothes and threw them at her.

"We're going out and you are going to wear those."

She held up the articles and felt the softness of the material, all silk. A crimson red top with a low v-neck drop and skirt to match, the skirt itself had her turning it this way and that wondering if the designer ripped the seams off, but what made her face as red as her new outfit was the lingerie he picked out. A black lace bra with a little push up for emphasis and a black thong; she felt so dirty just holding the dark material. The demon peeked outside and noticed the sun was beginning to set.

"You better get ready now or we won't beat the crowd."

She didn't bother to ask where he was taking her, if he wanted her to know he would have announced their destination from the beginning. Turning away she quickly darted into her room.

"Thanks."

Kagome muttered in gratitude before slamming the door shut; once alone she stripped down to nothing and put the undergarments on first. She had never worn a push up bra or even a thong for that matter; both were so foreign to her yet when she looked at herself in the mirror once again she didn't recognize herself. The singer looked like one of those pin-up girls army guys would tape to their armored cars. The triangles of the panties just covered what it was supposed to in front and back and nothing more and by God she had cleavage! She looked down and poked at her chest like at any moment the little thing holding her breasts up would pop off.

"I'm so glad my mother isn't here to see this."

She murmured and threw on the blood red top and skirt; the v-neck dropped low showing off her bra enhanced chest and the sides that should have covered her hips her cut away to show off their curves; the skirt went slightly past her knees, but the slits on both sides went well past mid-thigh and accentuated the perfection of her legs, it was cut low as well so that the thin straps of her thong were very noticeable. The vocalist refused to look at herself until she was completely ready which meant mascara, eye-liner and shadow, foundation, blush, lip gloss and curling her hair. Only when she was completely satisfied did she once more step in front of the mirror and nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

"Watashi Kami-sama…" (My God)

The woman looked so mature, so feminine and even though she wasn't self-centered in any way she felt she had never looked so beautiful before. She had never worn clothes like this, never looked remotely like this; feeling like a true vixen, a seductress waiting to pounce at a moment's notice. When she stepped out she noticed Sesshomaru standing in his office doorway, the one directly across from her room. He scanned her up and down and smirked holding his hand out for her.

"Now I have something to show off."

Kagome quietly took his hand and followed him to the garage where he helped her into the passenger's seat of one of his nicer cars. They drove in silence; the streets were unfamiliar as they passed many shops and expensive looking outlets. As they neared their destination she began to notice that all the buildings they passed had neon lights for signs and loud dance music blared from the open and overcrowded doors. She looked up at him and that same smirk pulled at the edges of his lips; her mind put the pieces together… a rave! He was going to take her out dancing!

"No way."

She said in disbelief, but sure enough the demon pulled up to a very high class looking club. When they came to a stop a valet employee opened the door and offered his hand to her; she took it and gingerly stepped out with her black high-heels. The valet boy looked barely older than her and when he looked at her his mouth fell open in shock and for a moment he hesitated to let go of her hand, but when he saw the writer walk up beside her and wrap his arm around her waist he dropped her hand and leapt several feet back. Sesshomaru led her to the entrance and shoved though the long line up to the door; men and women alike gawked at the two of them, they fit perfectly together, a match made in flawless heaven. Kagome looked like a rare flower in the midst of many fake ones; there was nothing false about her appearance, make-up to accentuate her features, not hide anything, no plastic surgery and there was an air of innocence to her.

"Ah, welcome back Mr. Takahashi."

The man at the front door said with and small bow; when his smiling face glanced over at her his eyes lit up.

"Oh what a rare beauty we have here welcome to Pleasure's Escape I do hope you enjoy yourself."

A few women in line behind them scowled at the man who did not bother to acknowledge them since all of his attention was on the miko. He took her hand and kissed it lightly; she blushed a little, but they didn't linger as the demon pulled her inside the moment the man stepped away to allow them entrance. She felt the beat of the music before she heard it; the walls shook from its sheer intensity. One of the things the writer liked about this club was that they had a strict 'No Cameras' policy, even cell phones with cameras were confiscated; cleverly hidden metal detectors went off and the person in question was pulled aside to be checked, but there was a trick to slipping by the detectors, a worker's enforcement of the policy could sway as much as one's pockets were deep. The richer you were the more the employees turned a blind eye to the red light flashing when it picked up something and the Takahashi had some of the deepest pockets in Tokyo.

"Welcome to the night life."

The demon said all-knowingly and pushed open the door. She was frozen in awe; the club was several stories high, the second and third levels were balconies that looked down on the main dance floor that was over-flowing with people. Flashing lights of multiple colors illuminated the dancers; music came from all around the club and was close to deafening. There was a bar with servers in nothing but pants for the guys and bikinis for the girls mixing high-end drinks and food for the members; it was easy to tell the regulars from the first timers such as herself on the dance floor; those who came often danced like they had done it all before, but the newbies swayed their hips and bodies in the dance of seduction like this would be their only chance for such closeness.

She suddenly felt envious of those on the floor, the passion between the partners was so obvious and the vehement feelings were contagious to all in the area; some couples kissed amorously while others were in a stiff competition of who could seduce the other more. She wished Sesshomaru would be like that, ever since the band came over for a "visit" he barely laid a hand on her; a caress here and light kiss there, but nothing more and the tension was building. A light, but demanding tug caught her attention and she turned to the demon to see him descend the steps leading to the dance floor.

"Dance with me."

It was more of a demand than a request, but it was his way and she had no choice. With shaking hands she stepped down to the main floor; he felt her hand quivering beneath his, but he didn't stop until she stumbled and nearly fell. He turned to her and pulled her in close, letting go of her hand so he could wrap his arms around her.

"Relax and you'll be fine. Calm that pounding heart of yours and breathe."

He waited until she was breathing evenly, but it took longer than he expected; perhaps he was wrong, perhaps she wasn't made for this. He was going to suggest a different place when she pulled away and smiled.

"Let's go."

She pulled him towards the crowd and he smirked, he knew he was never wrong and took the lead taking her to the edge of the crowd. From what she could see there were different levels of dancers, on the outside were the timid ones, slightly inexperienced and scared to go full out like some others were, the ring inside them were the regulars, the ones who knew how to dance, but now the act almost bored them so their was hardly any passion in their moves, the ring after them were the dancers of seduction their bodies swaying with the music and with their partner and loving every minute of it, and lastly was the core, the red hot ring of pure ecstasy containing the most extreme and out there dancers who moved and swayed like there was no one watching. Some went down to the floor, disappearing into the darkness; their bodies pressed so tightly against one another it would appear they were one entity.

The demon was merciful enough to pull in between the first and second ring, now her mind was racing when it dawned on her that she didn't know how to dance. Panic set in once again as she looked around at everyone; a few people stared at her, but not because of how she looked, but the person who she was with. It was painfully obvious to them that she was a human and he was a demon and not just any demon, but Sesshomaru Takahashi. The silver-haired youkai just sneered at them and pulled his priestess close; he came up from behind and rested his hands on her hips. Her back fit perfectly into his front; she was so small compared to him yet the contact felt so right.

"You can start moving any time you want."

She looked up at the demon and nodded trying her best to hide how lost she was when it came to this; she glanced at one of the regulars and tried to imitate her moves and roll her hips to the music, he attempted to follow, but she was off beat to the tempo and her dancing seemed forced, whatever she was trying to do wasn't natural for her and after a few songs he had enough and pulled away from her. Turning towards him she looked frustrated and angry at herself, but he took his index finger, drew it under chin, and pulled her face up to look at his.

"You're so tense, didn't your father in any of his teaches ever tell you that the tenser you are the more unnatural your moves would be?"

She sighed and shifted her eyes down, the miko had spoken a little bit too much about her family to him, he was already beginning to detect the patterns and teachings of her clan, but regardless, he was right.

"And in his many lessons he taught you how to make your body flow smoothly, in fact I know he did, I see it in the way you walk and that night when you danced on my pond..."

She looked up at him shocked, she didn't realize he knew it was her whom had danced on the water, but his words had her thinking. She knew how to make her body flow in fighting, how different was dancing? Besides, they were the couple bred to fight with each other and from what she learned from her father it was to never turn your back on your enemy so with a seductive smile she pulled closer to him face to face and started to move. There was an instant change in her, they way she danced was so much better than before, every movement was graceful and elegant yet seductive. The singer rolled her hips into his, pressing her core against his, her pace slow just like the music; feeling the beat of the bass within her own heart, she sped and slowed her tempo with it.

The youkai now had something to follow, with his demonic skills he could predict her next moves and stay with her. He saw the look on her face, a natural one, not like the forced expression as before; she was lost in the music, the crowd didn't matter anymore, the people staring went unnoticed by her, the others dancers faded into a dark background leaving only her and Sesshomaru in the spotlight. He bent down, pressing his lips to her neck and smirking against the softness of her skin; even when she stopped dancing he kept them moving in the sways of seduction.

"Not bad Lover."

Her heart exploded into a fury of beats the sensuality in his voice had her head spinning again; absent-mindedly her body still danced with his, attempting to seduce him even though her mind was now scrambled like her morning eggs. That word: _lover_ she never thought she would be referred to as that, so much was contained in it; it whispered in a hushed breath of nights that promised sheer passion, of burning kisses, and scorching caresses.

"I told you before that I'm a fast learner."

She smirked trying not to show how much his touch affected her, but he was well aware of her changing moods.

"You're not a very good liar though."

She gave him a puzzled look and he smirked.

"When I do this…"

The writer kissed the juncture of her neck.

"… you're heart skips a beat."

The organ did just that as if on cue and she cursed it and him.

"And when I do this…"

The demon slipped his hands underneath the silk shirt and caressed the soft skin beneath.

"… your core contracts and I can smell your excitement… your desire."

Once again her body did exactly as he predicted, biting back a moan, leaned into his touch and held onto him for support so she wouldn't fall. Gripping the front of his shirt the miko look up at him fighting the urges she had by smirking and still looking confident even though it was a straight up lie.

"You brought me here to dance not get all touchy-feely. Now are you going to move it or do I have to take the lead?"

In a flash he spun her around so once again her back was pressed against his front; clawed hands caressed the silk covered hips and played with the little strap to her new skimpy panties that rested above the skirt.

"Rest assured I will be leading, you're welcome to follow along if you like."

The exposed skin he touched burned at the contact, subconsciously the singer rested her head and nearly her whole body against his, trusting him to not let her fall. Smirking without him seeing, but he heard it in her voice.

"Is that a challenge?"

She said in a mocking tone turning her head up to look at him and the demon brought his head down upon hers and kissed her full on the lips; the action caught her by surprise. Before she got over the shock he pulled away with that most hated all-knowing sneer.

"Do you accept?"

Kagome laughed and pulled his hands to wrap around her waist.

"You bet your ass I do."

And the competition began to the beat of a new song, this one seemed different from all the others, it was softer, with a sensual rather than sexy feel to it, had all the wanted messages but still maintained an innocent air, and was exactly what the two needed. Even on the crammed floor, where there was no such thing as a personal bubble, people still found room to move aside for the two of them; they were still in between the first and second ring and the dancers in that area were suddenly intimidated by the two, jealous even, not because of who they were with or how they looked, but the sheer passion on their faces, how perfectly they fit in each others arms, how they danced as if no one was watching.

The soft melody of a piano began their song and Kagome felt very in control of the situation, she knew this song and knew how many ties she had to it.

'_I'm in heaven when you kiss me_

_Show me how you miss me_

_Take me with you wonderland…'_

The beginning repeated a second time slow yet upbeat before the tempo began to pick up; languidly rolling her hips into his and tilted her back. The lights from above spun and flashed illuminating the two of them and every time the spotlight was on them dancers and others from above stopped to look at them, they were in a world of their own, a place no one could conjure or describe, but the sight told them enough. As the beat picked up, a smile spread across her face, not cocky, but joyous and she turned to look up at him, his expression was unreadable, but she could tell that he was effected too. While she had his attention she opened her mouth and sang along with the lyrics.

"_You capture me with a stare; I'd follow you anywhere,_

_You lead me into temptation._

_I guess you need to enjoy, I'm like a kid with a toy,_

_I'm losing my concentration._

_One kiss from you and I'm on fire, your touch is all I desire,_

_One look and you take me higher._

_You know I couldn't resist, every time I'm with you,_

_Every time that we kiss."_

There was never a better song at a better moment for her, its words voiced what she felt, what she thought, what she was. The miko couldn't help but sing along, her voice rising up in the heat of the moment as the energy of the song burst into life; she swayed, moved, and fused herself to him to the tempo of the music. Swept up in the moment he took over in their little battle and grabbed her arm spinning her around and around, but instead of fumbling or falling she used the balls of her right foot as a balance and kept at it like a skilled dancer.

"_I'm in heaven when you kiss me, heaven when you kiss me_

_You were sent to me from Wonderland_

_I go crazy when you kiss me, show me how you miss me,_

_Take me with you back to Wonderland_

_You know I couldn't resist, every time I'm with you,_

_Every time that we kiss."_

He stopped her so they were facing each other once more, the way it should be. Grabbing her exposed leg he picked it up and hooked it over his waist so he had access to her heat and feel the pulse of her very core beat against him. She had her time to show off in the first round, now it was his turn to take command; the demon rolled his hips with hers making sure to let her know that he was taking the lead. Bending down his mouth found the shell of her ear and he let her know she wasn't the only one who knew the words.

"_I dream of you every night, feels like I'm losing my mind,_

_This feeling's just getting stronger._

_My head's spinning around, you play with me but I'm bound,_

_I can't resist and longer."_

Her heart slammed out of control and for a moment she faltered, seeking the shelter of his arms until she remembered that she was in no mood to lose so she disguised her desire by sensually pressing up against him with a sly smile. Wrapping a single arm around the back of his head, she slowly pulled him down and pressed her lips to his ear the same way he did and picked up right where the song left off.

"_One kiss from you and I'm on fire, your touch is all I desire._

_One look and you take me higher._

_You know I couldn't resist, yeah I miss_

_Every time I'm with you, every time that we kiss."_

There was a second explosion into the chorus and the priestess broke their close embrace and he stood there motionless for a moment until he felt her presence behind him; turning the author saw her dancing on her own tempting him, enticing him to follow her deeper into the maze of bodies. Deciding it was a waste not to follow he stepped right into her trap; she came at him from the side, wrapping one slender leg around his waist she slid up and down a few time so that he felt her heat. Twirling on her own she spun until she was right in front of him and froze right as they were about to collide; facing away from him she pressed her backside into his hips, bent down slightly and performed an act that in this competition was no way fair.

"_I'm in heaven when you kiss me, heaven when you kiss me,_

_You were sent to me from Wonderland._

_I go crazy when you kiss me, show me how you miss me,_

_Take me with you back to Wonderland._

_You know that I couldn't resist, yeah I miss_

_Every time I'm with you, every time that we kiss."_

Fully and completely turned on it became increasingly harder remain in control of his emotions and the battle especially when Kagome pulled a low and dirty move by turning to look at him with a not-so-innocent look while singing right to him: show me how you miss me. Sesshomaru almost forfeited the competition when making plans to whisk her off the dance floor and into his bedroom, but he held on and used his need to fuel his desire to regain the lead. In her current condition one move from him and she would be his and he did just that. Bending her down even further, the youkai wrapped his arms around her, caressing, touching, enticing every bit of skin he could find under her shirt and went so far as to reach down and brush her inner thigh with his claws. She turned into a helpless, paralyzed vessel; damn him and those hands, but God it felt good, but that was nothing when he kissed the crook of her neck and once more demonstrated his knowledge about the song's lyrics.

"_You know that I'm hypnotized each time I look in your eyes,_

_You know I couldn't disguise_

_And I couldn't resist every time that we kiss."_

His voice should be illegal, his hands, his lips, his eyes, his charm, all of it needed to be locked up and the key thrown somewhere dark, but it was far too late for that. Her will was breaking, she felt like giving in just so she could have some release, but her pride wouldn't let her, she never lost and there was no way she would submit to this demon without giving him hell. Still in the position he thought he froze her movements, but she was flexible and found room to put the moves on him again; tilting her head back she kissed him under his jaw.

"_I'm in heaven when you kiss me, heaven kiss me_

_You were sent to me from Wonderland._

_Oh its heaven when you kiss me, heaven when you kiss me._

_You were sent to me from Wonderland._

_I go crazy when you kiss me, baby don't resist me,_

_Take me with you back to Wonderland. _

_You know that I'm hypnotized by your eyes_

_And I just can't resist every time that we kiss."_

The singer loosened his grip enough so she could spin around and face him once more; the demon straightened them up just as the music began to die and slowed their pace. Her head was tilted down, but it rose up and their eyes met.

"_You know that I'm hypnotized by your eyes_

_And I just can't resist every time that we kiss." _

The music slowly faded until it was nothing and the next song started, but for them the moment that song ended, there was complete silence. In the midst so the swaying bodies they stood motionless like two figures frozen in time. Kagome saw her reflection in those golden orbs and she knew, she knew now was the time; tonight was her night for release. Her chest heaved up and down dragging air into her burning lungs, coated in a layer of sweat, and her mind in a daze to everything around her; even the deafening music did not reach her. Now there was only him and her, mind blank to everyone and everything except the wonderful specimen of a demon before her, the demon who stole her heart.

Sesshomaru, his face as stoic as ever revealed nothing while the little vixen before him spilled everything out before him. How did she do that so easily while he was struggling to even look flustered? How could he show her that tonight was theirs, no interruptions, no pauses, no regrets? This miko in his arms was so small, yet so strong willed and she was dropping the veil that covered her heart; all of this done with her eyes alone and he was standing, doing nothing. How could he show her without words? Something caught his eye, a bead of sweat rolling down from the singer's collarbone and slowly descending down to the valley of her breasts. Without any warning he dropped down and followed the drop with his tongue, tracing its path from her collarbone and following it down, when it reached the place he could not get to, he kissed the satin skin.

"Sesshomaru…"

She whispered and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in while her tilted back in pure ecstasy. He pulled away and straightened himself up again, their eyes met and the message was the same for both of them; wrapping one strong hand gently around her waist he turned and quickly led her off the dance floor. In the hurry that they were in they did not notice that the spot they were in was still untouched by anyone else, a bare and sacred void right in the very center of the red hot core.

The demon's strides were so big she had to run to keep up with his ground eating pace; too impatient to go through the lengthy exit he led them back up through the entrance forcing other couples who were walking down the hallway to move aside. When they reached the velvet rope of the entrance, the two paused for a moment as a stillness fell upon the crowd still standing in line. All eyes were on them, some sly, most in complete shock, then the first of the camera flashes went off. The youkai was quick to shield his miko before the flash would expose her, but after the first burst of light came a constant stream of them, never ending and lighting up the darkness more than the neon lights of the club. Quickly grabbing her hand he pulled her away from the line and to the valet, a few followed them and caught blurred images to the two of them together, so close and trying to make their escape.

* * *

A pair of shirts lay tangled in front of the open door, one a white men's long sleeve, the other a blood red women's spaghetti strap; Shoes and socks were strewn across the floor, down the hall was a red skirt with a pair of black pants not three feet away. Slanted claw marks littered the walls leading to the master bedroom where the two culprits of the mess intertwined their bodies on a bed of crimson silk. Kagome in nothing but the bra and thong given to her and Sesshomaru clad in boxers; the demon comfortably situation in the cradle of her inner thighs made quick work of the situation while his victim was helpless to the assault.

"Se-Se-Sesshomaru!"

She stammered and embraced him tightly as he ripped off her bra and threw it to the floor where it would remain out of his way; she gasped at the sheer intensity of the action, but moaned when her now freed breasts became the objects of attention for the youkai's skilled hands and mouth. He grabbed, bit, massaged, scrapped, licked, and sucked until her back was bent and tight like an archer's bow; she couldn't keep still, her body was constantly moving without her knowledge.

"Do you like that little miko?"

The demon whispered against her soft skin and she nodded; he breathed warms air on her erect buds and she cried out once more. Silver moonlight spilled through the window and lit up Kagome's skin, making her body glow like a goddess; the demon repeated the action with a smirk making his little goddess squirm.

"What do you want Lover?"

Her core clenched at the sensuality of his voice; wrapping her arms around him she dug her nails deeper into his back for every ripple of pleasure that traveled up and down her spine.

"You dammit! You! I'm tired of waiting, of holding out! Now get those damn boxers off!"

The singer heard him laugh and glanced down to see those golden eyes lock onto hers and for a moment right after she said that the vocalist saw a flicker of life in his eyes; for just one split second she found a hole in the fortress around his heart where there was warmth and happiness. In a flash it was gone; he severed her connection with a blink and a smirk.

"Such impatience… perhaps I should teach you how to wait."

He pulled away, but in the blink of an eye the priestess locked onto his arm with an iron grip.

"You do that and we're going to the hospital to treat your burns."

He quirked an eyebrow and bent back down to her.

"What burns?"

She raised her free hand up to his face and allowed it to be coated in the blue flames of her purification.

"The ones these flames with give you if you don't get down here."

She never used her abilities to get her way unless she was in dire straights, even if he was just kidding the thought of him leaving her in this state put her dire straights therefore she had no qualms in threatening him. Something was different; he wasn't submitting to her, instead that all-despised smirk pulled at the edges of his lips.

"Is that a challenge?"

He questioned with an air of male smugness and flared out his demon aura; smirking back with that same arrogance she released her own. Flames of red and blue met and battled for dominance; they mixed and clashed, neither relenting, neither giving in one speck of ground. In the middle of the storm were the two of them a demon and a priestess, a monster and a human; they looked upon each other with passionate, yet calculating gazes. The miko smiled lightly and with a gentle hand she pulled him down to her and brought their lips together; parting her lips the youkai delved deep, savoring her sweetness while taking pleasure in her offering. When they parted that same smile pulled at her lips.

"Everything doesn't have to be a challenge."

She dropped her aura and he did the same while shrugging.

"Fine I'll give you a freebie since this is your first time."

Sesshomaru kissed her lightly starting from her lips and working his way down, chin, neck, collarbone, chest, bellybutton, and stopped just before he hit the black lace covering her. He glanced up to see that her head was tilted and her back arched off the bed, a look of pure ecstasy baring down upon him made his own body clench in anticipation. With the slightest touch he made her part her legs even further and just like her bra he ripped the black panties right off her and she moaned at the suddenness of it as cool air hit her burning core. He kissed the inside of her thighs going up and down its pale length, but never touching what wanted to be touched the most. Lifting up her hips, she offered herself to him with utmost need and desire.

"Hurry!"

She cried and the moment she said that, he gave in and stroked her heat with his right hand while he parted her folds with the left. A moan escaped the lips of the miko as she raised her hips more, throwing her head back, her breath coming in short gasps while small hands grabbed fistfuls of the silk sheets. Kissing her flat stomach he smiled an arrogant smile against her skin as his index finger continued its sweet torture.

"How does that feel my lover?"

She hitched her breath and couldn't stop herself from hiding his hand.

"It feels… oh God… it feels…"

She couldn't finish her train of thought, her mind in disarray, everything was mixed up and there he was causing all of this and yet providing her an anchor to hold her in place whilst she rode the storm. A coil… she felt it inside her and it was just showing its first signs of being tightened, she wanted it tighter, no, _needed_ it tighter and that required going a little further. Reaching down she grasped the hand that had been pleasuring her and took his index finger and pressed it inside a little.

"More… I want more."

She gasped out in explanation, with a nod he slipped the first finger inside with such skill as to not cut her with his claws, but she was proving difficult having such a strong resistance to him, this was typical of first timers, but not being with someone like that, it was new for him too. As he got deeper she flinched in discomfort, but he was slow in his progress and soon he had a second finger deep inside her. With ragged breath she twisted and turned, quick to get used to his hand she was soon moving her body so that they would slip inside and out of her; using his free hand he rested his forearm across her hips and help her down.

"Such impatience…"

He said once more and thrust his fingers in and out, feeling her resistance, her heat, her wetness and that only made his patience wane. She felt the coil tighten and it brought such a high she didn't want to stop, but what he was doing wasn't enough, she needed to be moving to get more so she fought against him, rocking her hips to the rhythm of his hand despite him trying to hold her down. There was no holding down Kagome Higurashi as he soon found out when his hold was loosening; he allowed it since she seemed too far into his ministrations to just stop. It was tightening even more, no longer restricted; she was free to move so that the coil could only get tighter until it reached its breaking point. She was so close, breathing shortened, the heat in her face grew and her pace quickened since his was too slow, tighter and tighter it became, a few more thrusts and it would break… almost there.

"I think you're ready."

He pulled out of her and there was an instant protest, she felt so empty without his hand inside her; glaring up at him with such a passion he nodded his head and pulled himself up just as she was about to rise.

"How dare you leave me hanging—"

She was cut off by his kiss, both of them were now sitting up, but with a little push he had her on her back once more; he kissed her with such a passion it almost made her forget how her climax had been cut short. Pulling away only to dive for the crook of her neck and whisper in that sensual voice.

"I know you're ready…"

Her breath was cut off by the shock of his words looking up at him; they both knew and as he reached down to part her legs enough for him to enter, she easily submitted. Pulling down his boxers and kicking them off he positioned himself just outside her entrance and the miko looked down at him and saw the fullness of his desire, how great his need was and her heart thundered in her ears and pulsed in her core. Lowering his upper half to her he whispered in her ear.

"Feel free to dig your nails into my back if it hurts… you'll be fine…"

He said it with such a gentleness she never knew he had and it almost brought tears to her eyes.

"… I promise."

He sealed his vow with feather light kisses across her neck, cheek and then to her full lips; slipped her hands out of the entanglement of the sheets the priestess wrapped her arms around his torso. Silver hair spilled all around as if to shield her from the world beyond it; strong arms on either side of her trapped her in and yet kept everything else out. She felt its tip touch her and her body and mind went haywire the resistance that had previously blocked out the demon's fingers seemed to double its reinforcement and it seemed as if her wouldn't even make it through her entrance.

'_Relax… calm down…'_ she coached herself, but no matter what she could do her muscles would not calm down, _'Please… please don't do this… just relax…' _She breathed in and out, and her eyes that had been closed peeked open to see the demon waiting for her. Chocolate met gold and she seemed entranced by his eyes, they were so deep like she could lose herself forever in his gaze. His lips parted and she heard his voice whisper so softly, so sweetly she didn't believe it was him at first.

"Relax…"

He said and pushed through her entrance by an inch her walls clamped tightly around him, nails dug deeply into his back as she bit back voicing her pain. It was only a little bit and this is how it felt? Immediately he was there, kissing her all over trying to taking her mind off the discomfort.

"Relax…"

He cooed softly and pushed in a little more, she was so tight, not even halfway in and she seemed to be stretched to her maximum. The singer released her grip on his back only to latch on even tighter, pulling down his back and leaving long scratches.

"It's okay."

He said once more in that same gentle tone and she fought back the need to scream, looking back up into his eyes, he could see there were tears building up in them from the pain.

"Sessho…maru… ah! I-If this is gonna work out you-you need to do it fast…"

He almost didn't believe what he was hearing, in the state she was in it seemed like she couldn't stand much more, could he really take her so quickly like that, but she called out once more only this time she used her demanding voice.

"Do it! Do it now Sesshomaru!"

All indecision from before was wiped clean from his mind when he heard her demand; bending down his kissed her with such a passion and caressed her cheek with his while whispering one more time in her ear.

"Let me in… my Kagome…"

Her eyes grew wide at his words; did she hear correctly? Her heart betrayed her by beating hard and as powerful as a bass drum, she did hear correctly and she smiled. Finally she felt ready to let go, still in discomfort she wrapped her arms around her neck and held on while nodding her head in approval. Grabbing her hips firmly with both hands, he took her in one swift thrust, pushing through all the resistance and the repulsion of her body, burying his fullness deep inside her. She gave such a cry it almost pained him to hear it, she held onto his with such a strength he didn't think even he could break free of it. It hurt, oh God it hurt of much, like she was being torn in two; stretched beyond her limits the miko voiced her pain.

"It hurts! It hurts!"

She screamed, not meaning to and once more he kissed her, waiting for her to get used to him, but she was so small, would she ever get used to it? He knew then that this was too much, they had asked more than she could give and now she was in such pain. With a sigh he wrapped one arm around her and used the other to flip their positions so she was the one on top; hot tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto his chest. Confused and hurt she sniffed and looked up at him with blurred vision.

"Rest and don't move, it'll only make things worse for you."

He said and she couldn't help but catch the disappointment, not in her, but in himself for not taking things at a pace she could handle. Now because of her encouragement and his inability to say 'no' in the sack she was more than likely scarred for life. Wiping her tears with one hand and tucking her hair behind her ear with the other he heaved another sigh.

"Sleep, I won't pull out of you now, it'll hurt too much and your screaming is the last thing my ears need."

He sounded stoic and cold hearted, but she knew that this was his way of being nice.

"Thank you."

She said quietly and curled up against his chest trying to ignore the throbbing pain of her core; through the pain she was able to find the light at the end of the tunnel, she was here in his room, in his bed, and he was inside her. Together, joined like this with no remorse other than the pain, no thoughts of her family or the band to give her grief, like this, everything seemed okay. Time past and the singer moved to switch positions when she pulled herself out of him slightly and a ripple of pleasure ran up and down her spine like never before. She shivered and sat up, the demon opened his eyes and looked at her and sniffed the air, he smelled a spike in her desire, a peak in her arousal.

Sitting up with her he grabbed her hips and pulled himself out slightly to test her reaction and he felt her shiver once again and more of that intoxicating scent filled his nose. Their eyes met, hers glazed over with such a sudden need, his cautious and calculating, yet enflamed by the sudden turned of events. Flipping their positions he heard her moan when the silk touched her back once again; pulling all the way out of her she cried out, not in pain, but for the loss of it and slowly he pushed his way back in, another moan escaped her lips. She was so tight, yet her body seemed to be at last getting used to him, her muscles gripped him firmly as he made his full way in a second time.

"Damn that feels… good."

She gasped and grabbed the sheets above her as the air escaped from her lungs; the demon pulled out of her again and thrust in slowly, but fiercely and the sounds that came from her drove the demon to the point of losing control. His pace started out slow, but sure only quickening when she wanted to. The coil retightened within her, the irresistible coil that nearly drove her over the edge once before, it suddenly demanded more, now with the pleasure factor back it wanted to suck up all it could out of its host. The miko began to move with him no longer patient with sitting still and letting him do all the work.

Her chest heaved up and down in short gasps for air; the room was filled with her sounds and even a groan or two from him. The constant movement from both of them tightened it even further, every thrust, every touch brought her closer to breaking it; he was moving so fast now, she struggled at some points to keep up. He could see her climax was close, with every breath she took it drew closer, but he knew exactly how to bring it to the surface. Kissing her fully on the mouth, tongue and all he taunted her with the one line that broke all the women before her.

"Cum for me…"

Her eyes flew open, she could almost hear the snap of the coil finally breaking and she lost it, screaming his name at the top of her lungs the miko threw her head back in pure passion; she came forcefully, but wonderfully, but he wasn't done with her yet. Still pounding into her with that unrelenting rhythm, he kissed her again before coming inside her filling her to the brim and at that moment she freaked.

"Oh my God what have you done?!"

She pulled out of him so suddenly it hurt, but she ignored the pain and looked down at the white, sticky mess oozing out of her. Horrified she wiped up the mess with her hand and even reached inside to extract the white fluid, but it was too deep for her to reach. A sickness fell over her and when she turned to the demon she saw a smirk on his face.

"What the hell are you laughing about?! This isn't funny! Oh my God…"

She groaned again and hid her face in her hands, curling up into a little ball of misery; a cruel chuckle filled her ears and she whipped her head around to glare at him.

"What the hell is so funny?! Oh yes, knocking me up is hilarious!"

His laughter grew and he shook his head.

"Pregnancy is the last thing you have to worry about."

She furrowed her eyebrows and drew closer to him with a death glare; looking up at her made his all-knowing smirk wider.

"That's the first thing I need to worry about! You came inside me! Ugh! I can't believe I just said that!"

The demon shook his head at her hysterics; she was getting a little out of control so he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into the shelter of his arms. She gasped slightly and looked up and him and found the youkai staring down at her with a maniacal laughter in his eyes.

"No it's not…"

He brushed the hair that was in her face away and stroked her cheek; wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into his warmth.

"… I no longer have the ability to have children."

* * *

**Long update you say? No… okay yes. Gomen de for my extended absence but I did warn you in advance. Hot beginning and hot ending, not a bad way to make up for my inability to update if I do say so myself. Like I said before, crazy uncle issues (they tripled over the holidays… yea me), ah nothing gives you writer's block quite like a family depression don't you think? **

**Song: I'm In Heaven by ATC (Corny? Very, but I love it anyway.)**

**Me: (gets down on hands and knees and starts praying to the Fanfiction gods) Ohm…**

**Friend: (stares down at me) Uh… Love's Essence, what the hell are you doing?**

**Me: (Still bowing) I'm praying and offering sacrifices to the almighty Fanfiction gods to bring me a bountiful harvest of reviews this chapter.**

**Friend: (smacks forehead) Oh God she's finally lost it… Somebody get me stick so I can knock some sense into her!**

**Please review (pouts) I could use a little bit of feedback and if you don't then that means I'll have to start making human sacrifices to please the FF gods. Thank you for reading!**

**-Love's Essence **


	6. Decisions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha; this fanfiction is partially based on the anime series Gravitation and blah, blah, blah.**

**Gravitation **

Chapter 6: Decisions

Kagome froze for a moment before rubbing her ear a little bit to clear a path for proper sound to go through; that was it, she didn't hear right, but just to make sure…

"What the hell are you talking about?! You're Sesshomaru Takahashi, the most eligible bachelor and lover of many women—"

He cut her off by placing a finger to her lips.

"And of those many women, how many have come forward saying that they were pregnant with my child?"

She grew quiet at that and dropped her gaze.

"None I guess."

Then it hit her, he couldn't have children; it wasn't like she was expecting this fling to go very long and there was no way she was ever going to have kids but… why did it still hurt? Lying back down next to him, she allowed herself to be wrapped in his arms, overcome by a sudden feeling of exhaustion; closing her eyes she snuggled close and breathed in his scent.

"I'm tired."

She stated quietly and the demon pulled her in.

"Then sleep, you'll annoy me more if you force yourself to stay awake."

The miko laughed and fell asleep almost immediately afterward, just like a little kid; even in her sleep she snuggled up to him, pressing their bodies together to feel his heat, his warmth. With his arms wrapped around her he sighed and toyed with her hair, he would not sleep tonight, as a demon he was able to go ten days without so much as laying down; before his death, his father would sleep once a month which left plenty of time to get work and business done quickly so he could spend the rest of his time with his mother who also didn't have to sleep as often.

The death of his mother hit his father hard until he met Izayoi, she was a young and beautiful woman who came from a fine family and brought life back to his father again, but Sesshomaru despised her. Mika reached the age where she didn't really like it, but accepted Izayoi into the Takahashi home; Sesshomaru's views did not budge no matter what the human did. He hated her weakness, how his father always had to protect her in times of violence, hated that she had to sleep every night which caused the dog lord to sleep every night too so he could be with his wife, hated the younger brother she gave him who did not share all the traits of the Takahashi blood, hated how when his father died, he left everything to her, not him, hated that when she too died she left everything to Mika.

Staring down at Kagome he pondered if it was in the Takahashi blood to attach themselves to humans; his father and Izayoi, Mika and the president Tohma, now here he was with the small, yet extremely powerful human. A miko with God-like abilities and the gift to really get under his skin. He didn't know what to think anymore about this situation, the only thing he did know is that she started it and he was going to do his part to continue it.

Kagome opened her eyes and found herself alone in Sesshomaru's bed, the sun was blocked out by the thick blinds, but what did filter though illuminated the messy tangle of red sheets and undergarments scattered across the floor, or what was left of them at least. She was in the very center of the entanglement of silk, a bare leg stuck out from the blankets along with her naked upper torso.

* * *

"Thanks for waking me up."

She muttered to no one, but knew who it was intended for, rubbed her eyes, and yawned loudly. As she moved to get up, a sudden pain shot up from her core and paralyzed her legs.

"What the…"

She pulled the sheets away from her lower half and saw the dried up white mess around the junction of her legs and poked at her thighs, they refused to move for her. Growling low in her throat the miko snapped her eyes up to the closed door, opened her mouth, took and deep breath and…

"SESSHOMARU!!"

He was in there so fast thinking she was being murdered, only to be disappointed and not just that, she looked as angry as hell, but what was quite a plus was that when she called for him, she forgot to cover up so he got to see a few seconds of heaven.

"Good to know sex doesn't change our relationship much."

She blushed like crazy, but her anger did not subside.

"Well our little roll in the bed has turned me into an invalid! My legs refuse to cooperate and I'm in more pain down there than my period! I blame you so help me; I have work to go to!"

Rolling his eyes he considered just leaving her ass miserable as it was, but he knew that she would just scream bloody murder all day long and her voice could go the distance, if she could sing for hours God knows she could scream just as long.

"To think my good talent is being wasted on this."

He muttered and walked over to her.

"Lay back and pull the covers off your legs."

He ordered and she knotted her eyebrows.

"What?! No way you perv!"

As if to assert her statement she bunched all the silk she could around her legs to make access as difficult as possible and he growled.

"You wanted my help; you have to do as I say. Quit making something out of nothing."

Before she could protest even further the demon bent down, thrust a fist under the sheets and extracted both legs, pulling them out by the ankles, pushed the red silk away and laid down one bare leg on its side.

"Hey! What do think you—"

She stopped herself short when he began to massage the inside of her thigh with both hands, not erotically, but anything the demon did to her felt like it had impure intentions. After a few minutes he moved to the other leg, massaging it, caressing it, running up and down the smooth skin just like he did with the first leaving no bit of flesh untouched; as if to finalize the action her slapped her backside.

"There. Now stand up."

He grabbed her hand and yanked her out of his bed.

"Eep!"

The miko cried out, thinking her legs weren't going to respond and she would fall, but surprisingly she landed on her feet and was able to hold her weight with no problem. Turning to him she saw him walking to the door, but look back once only to scan her up and down and it wasn't until he left Kagome realized that she was still naked. Cursing and swearing in a low voice she grabbed a few towels and went to the bathroom to take a shower because, to put it bluntly, she smelled like cigarettes and sex. Making sure she was covered, the singer caught the demon glancing above his morning paper to see if she was still "au naturale" before disappearing into the bathroom.

Once safely inside she locked the door and threw the towels to the floor and passed the full length mirror only to pause and step back to look at herself. Her skin was covered in so many hickey's and love bites that she looked like one of those people she would see in a 'Don't-Let-This-Happen-To-You' poster, but other than that her body had not changed, again, it wasn't as if she was expecting anything, but a small part of her hoped that when she woke up she would obtain the adult-like appearance that her sister had, but it was the same old childish looks, same body.

Reaching out she touched the surface of the mirror just as she had the night before, having no virginity was somewhat different than she had thought, she didn't feel any regret, no horrible guilt for what she had done, the vocalist was happy, sore and flustered, but happy. She was finally able to be with him, the ice cold, demon who acted like he had a sword coated in super glue shoved up his ass. This body was now a used body, it had served nature's true and only purpose, to have sex and procreate, but Sesshomaru couldn't have kids so she didn't have to worry about birth control, protection and what-not and for a moment she sighed in relief because that saved her so much embarrassment of going to the store to buy those things.

"He can't have children…"

She said to herself, allowing the weight of it crash down on her, because she was a Higurashi she resigned herself to never have children; the worst thing she could do to disgrace her family's name was to have a child, not just any child, but a demon's child, and not just any demon, but Sesshomaru Takahashi's child. Using the hand that wasn't touching the mirror she pressed against her lower abdomen, finger splayed wide; she thought it rather convenient, a demon who couldn't have children and a human who wasn't allowed to have children, a logical pair if she didn't say so herself, but still… she couldn't help imagining giving Sesshomaru a child, how would he react? Would he be happy, angry? Would he shun it for being a half-demon or accept it as his own? Would he love the baby or hate it?

"I wonder how much it hurt you when you found out Sesshomaru, I know when I learned my fate so long ago… it hurt so bad and still does. Does your heart ache too?"

She asked looking in his general direction from behind the locked door; something tugged at the back of her mind: what happened that made the demon infertile? Genetic defect? Freak accident? Karma? She didn't know, but what she did know was that she put off her shower long enough; she cleaned up, but a part of her hesitated for a moment wanting to preserve what had happened in the writer's bed to linger on her body forever, but she didn't want to have another episode like she had with guys involving her scent.

"I guess I won't be needing this for a while."

She reached back and removed all the pins and pulled her long hair off so she was back to Bad Luck's Kagome, guy Kagome, in no way shape or form in a relationship with Sesshomaru Takahashi Kagome. Now short again, she ruffled and played with the now boyish looking hair and pulled at a few of the longer raven black locks and sighed sorrowfully. She was going to have to get it cut soon before it got too long again, it was hard enough looking like a guy with the features she already had. A cloud of steam followed her as she exited the bathroom, squeaky clean and smelling like the demon's soap.

"You'll never guess who's here."

The youkai said sarcastically when she was out of the shower; she froze and groaned.

"Inu-Yasha?"

The singer said in a dejected voice and dropped her head in defeat, dragging her feet to her room.

"Shock of the century isn't it?"

He said with a sneer as she closed the door behind her; as she dropped back down on the bed and reached for the phone, a dawning came upon her. During her stay with the guys, they all got to talking about various things, sharing information about each other that few or no one knew before; one of such conversations was a rather sexual topic and to avoid a long explanation she discovered that she was the only one in the band who wasn't a virgin anymore. She suddenly felt so much older, as if she was in a higher rung of life than the guys and that brought a wide smile which spread all the way to her ears. Drying her hair with a towel and dialing the numbers on her cell phone at the same time proved to be a difficult, but finally she got the right number and heard the ringing.

"Where the hell are you?!"

Was the immediate response she got, but strangely no anger came, why she didn't know, the only thing she knew was that her voice was eerily calm, as if she had reached a new level in her stages of Enlightenment.

"I will be down in ten minutes, don't waste your gas or your temper."

She sounded as if she were an adult speaking to a child and not knowing how to respond to this change Inu-Yasha looked up at the mansion with raised eyebrows.

"Are you feeling okay? Di-did you like… hit your head or something?"

There was a very reserved, mature laughter on her end.

"No such thing. I'll see you in ten minutes."

She hung up leaving the half-demon to contemplate going up to the house himself to check and make sure that the demon didn't drug her, but ten minutes later she ran out the door just as she promised. For a second he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look off in the distance, but something in her step made him do a double take with wide eyes. The skip in her stride was way too bouncy, too many stars were shining in her eyes and by God were those flowers swirling in the background?! The miko reached him and he thought his jaw dropped so much it was scrapping across the floor

"Ka-Ka-Ka-"

He couldn't even get her name out and she just closed her eyes and giggled.

"Good morning to you too Inu-Yasha."

She brushed right past him, hopping on the bike, and looking up at him with that same look; he turned around his jaw still nailed to the ground.

"If you keep your mouth open like that you'll attract flies."

He immediately snapped it shut and out of his stupor at the same time; she didn't look drugged, drunk or in the throws of a mental break down, but this change unnerved him like a child is unnerved by an adult speaking in a way they can't understand. Knowing this wasn't the time or the place to talk he got on his bike and drove off, deciding it best to deal with her new outlook with everyone else. She did not wrap her arms around his waist as she usually did, but opted to sit up straight and spread them out as if in release, freedom from hidden binds.

When arriving to the studio she gave off the impression of walking on air, in a dream like state that made everyone look absolutely stupid with their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open. Inu-Yasha was the only one who had some shred of control over his facial expression since he already saw her like this; something had happened between her and Sesshomaru, they all knew that much, but how far was the million dollar question. Miroku was the brave one to approach her and get up close to her, staring deep in her eyes.

"Now what could have possibly happened for you to have this look of Enlightenment on your face?"

Her eyes were glittering so bright he quickly backed away and she smiled wider.

"What are you talking about? Nothing happened more than usual."

Lie, lie, lie, lie,_ lie_! As she tried to step away Koga blocked her path with arms folded across his chest.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

She looked up at him with an innocent expression, he almost let her go, but with everyone else around he had to stand firm. Their persistence gave her the minor jolt back into reality, they wanted to know and there was no way she could tell them. It was in her eyes, the fear of them finding out and resolution to keep her mouth shut which had Aki very suspicious, pushing Koga aside the half-phoenix gently grabbed her chin and forced her eyes to bore into his. Eyes were the gateways to the soul and this was especially true with her, if there was one thing she couldn't do, it was hide her emotions.

"We'll leave it alone."

The hanyou finally said and freed her from his grasp; she immediately looked away, feeling so exposed, turning away made it seem like anything he didn't catch would be safely put away and out of his gaze, but he saw everything as if he had been there last night, she saw it in the way he carried himself, as if the weight of everything she had done fell from the sky and landed squarely on his shoulders. He didn't deserve that kind of burden.

"Aki—"

"I said we'll let it be. Now come on, we've got practice."

He cut her off before she could get anything out, her silence was almost as damning as her admitting it, but if she didn't say anything that left some sliver of hope that nothing really happened and that sliver of hope was the only thing that was holding him together. If she started talking, he would surely break. Practice had a very sober feel to it, very orderly, productive and ended on time; completely opposite of what it should have been, well it was until Mr. K decided to pay a little visit.

'BAM!'

The door was blown off its hinges and missed Kagome's face by inches as it crashed into the opposite wall; everyone hit the floor as their manager let them know he was present by sending a spray of bullets across the room.

"Great news!"

"What? Did you save 15 on your car insurance by switching to Geico?"

For that Inu-Yasha got a grenade thrown in his face; it would've blown up but he was gutsy enough to grab it and hold down on the trigger to keep it from detonating. With beads of sweat running down his face and his breathing frantic the hanyou looked up at him seeing the American for the maniac that he was.

"What the hell! Can't you take a joke anymore?!"

As the dust cleared the blonde was seen cleaning another one of his favorite guns looking rather bored.

"This is no time for jokes. I finally found a gig for you; it's rather small, but Higurashi I think you'd like the location."

Kagome perked up and instantly everyone panicked, Kagome's last name was tip-top secret and the fact that Mr. K threw it around so casually where anyone and their grandmother could hear it had their hearts pounding, but she could care less at the moment.

"It's the Ruido Clubhouse where Sango and the rest of Nittle Grasper made their debut."

3… 2… 1…

"AAAAAHHHHH!!"

The band nearly condemned Mr. K to death when Kagome tackled him, latching onto his neck with her arms and squeezing him until his facial color matched his blue eyes.

"Noway!Noway!Noway!Noway!Noway!Noway!"

Bad Luck waited in anticipation, even had their fingers crossed, but when she let him go and he drew in his ragged gasp they all groaned in disappointment.

"Don't worry guys, maybe next time."

Aki said with a sigh and they all shook their heads in dejection their only hope was to wait for another fatal incident to occur. When the normal tan color returned to the gun-lover's face he straightened up and made sure to keep the miko an arm's length away.

"The concert is in one week so get to work! Don't just stand there, move it!"

He made a motion with his hand from them to disperse and they all scrambled like cockroaches in a room where the light was just turned on; when they turned back to the wreckage that was once a door their manager was gone, most likely off to purchase another gun; personally, they really didn't want to know and left his off hours up to their imaginations.

* * *

"Hey Kagome..."

Aki called out when they day's practiced finally drew to a close after its extended hours inspired by Mr. K. The singer paused at the hole where the door used to be, Inu-Yasha was just ahead of her getting he keys and helmet ready to take her back to his brother's place, both turned around as the hanyou approached them.

"… will you ah… will you take a walk with me? Don't worry; I'll take you home afterwards."

He twitched a little using the word "home", but didn't let it show; the half-dog was a little leery about it, but the priestess was more than happy to get a chance to talk to her friend and hopefully smooth things over. They waited until everyone was gone before taking off by themselves; the miko breathed a sigh of relief, it was just like old times where she and the half-phoenix would sneak off late at night and take long walks under the moonlight. He took her away from the concrete jungle to an old park with a view of the city was said to be breath-taking; she went with him without a second thought in her mind.

"Whatcha wanna talk about Aki?"

She said as she skipped down the stone path, he took his usual long strides to keep up with her, but for someone who asked for time alone to talk, he was awfully quiet. They came to the railing that prevented people from falling down the steep side, but instead of using the railing to keep them from falling, they leaned on it and looked out at the famous view. It was quite a beautiful site with the lights so strong they seemed to brighten up the sky, but to Aki, all these flashy lights and statues paled in the presence of Kagome.

"Oh nothing much, just wanted to have some alone time with you, you know, like we used to."

She grinned cheekily and turned to look up at him.

"I like the sound of that."

He smiled back, her smile made the sadness in his eyes disappear if only for a moment; reaching up he ruffled her hair like he used to.

"Speaking of sound, you excited about being on the same stage where Nittle Grasper made their first debut?"

The grin on her face stretched until it couldn't possibly get any wider.

"You have no idea."

She said and he laughed and using the hand that was still on top of her head pulls it down playfully. The singer growled like a little kid and snapped at his hand and it warmed his heart.

"I'm really glad you're back Kagome."

He said it before he could stop himself, she paused for a moment and mulled over his words before snickering.

"Your warm welcome is several months too late."

He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I guess it is, but it's true; it sucked not having you around. Nobody knows each other well enough quite like we do."

She nodded in agreement, but that statement had the wheels in her head turning; she and Aki had been together since they were five and even though he told her not to worry about it before, maybe there was something in his memory that he over-looked, something that would give her a clue to what these thoughts and memories were.

"The stars."

She said and the hanyou gave her a strange look; the miko turned to him with an adamant expression on her face, such determination he rarely saw in her eyes.

"Doesn't that saying mean anything to you?"

He raised his eyebrows at her and was beginning to questioning her sanity.

"Remember Aki, it was on a night like this, you were in your demon form and held out your hand to me and said 'where to my fair lady' and I said 'the stars' and then you said—"

"As you wish."

He said with a smile recalling the memory, but the look in her eyes did not match, her expression was one of realization and shock; his smile disappeared. That was a moment she wasn't supposed to remember and he just blew it, he couldn't say it was a dream or a fantasy now; damn it, he should have known he had to be on his toes when around Kagome. It had been so long, which to remember and which to pretend like they never happened, he couldn't keep track anymore and she was no help at all. The priestess opened her mouth to say something when a voice coming from the trees behind them stopped her.

"Please let me go!"

It was a woman's voice and immediately following hers was the rough laughter of two men.

"Heh, you were the only who came to us sweetheart."

Said one of the men, there was the sounds of a slight struggle and they heard the woman again, this time more frantic.

"Only to ask you for directions!"

There was more snickering as the second man spoke up.

"A pretty girl like you all by herself and two lonely men, why don't we both do each other a favor and go somewhere dark and quiet."

He said suggestively.

"No!"

She cried even louder and there was more struggling, by now Kagome and Aki made their way through the forest-like area to a small open space where a woman was being held still by one man while the other made a move to put his hands on her. Aki came up from behind and grabbed the man's arm, pulling it the wrong way and forcing him to let go.

"Ah! Who the hell are you?!"

At this time Kagome came up next to the hanyou and they both clapped their hands together.

"You don't recognize us?"

She toyed and the guitarist picked it up.

"We're members of the one and only band who's made it big in the corporate business and has a concert set in one week: Bad Luck!"

The men growled, the shorter one grabbed Aki's collar while the much taller one got a fist full of the miko's; both pulling them close.

"Quit jerking us around!"

The one holding the half-phoenix said; the red-head just smiled manically and put his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, we're sorry."

He said and that threw them for a loop until he tilted his head back slightly before ramming his skull into the guy's forehead, easily knocking him to the ground. The large guy was slightly distracted by his partner falling and didn't notice the singer's palm come up and slam right into his chin jerking his neck backwards in a position it shouldn't have been. If there was any chance of recovery from that the priestess destroyed it when she swung her leg around and kicked the man's feet out from under him and he toppled to the dirt as well. The woman watched as the two beat her almost attackers into the dust and when the two men were unconscious her saviors climbed on top of them and produced black makers seemingly out of nowhere.

"Geez, if you wanted an autograph that badly all you had to do was ask."

Kagome signed her name and wrote Bad Luck next to it on the semi-coma man and Aki did the same before they both stood up and turned to the slightly shaken woman. The phoenix approached her with a smile.

"Hey Miss, are you alright?"

Even in the dark her beauty could not be mistaken, long straight hair of light brown that went all the way down to her waist, she wasn't as tall as Kagome, shorter by only an inch or two, but it was her eyes that drew his attention the most, they were not the normal brown that a Japanese would have, they were a deep blue, almost purple and they glowed in the moonlight. When he spoke she jumped a little and quickly bowed.

"Yes, I'm fine—"

A loud stomach growl stopped her short; the young woman looked up at him with a slight blush and they both laughed.

* * *

"So what were you doing in a park in the middle of the night? It was a good thing we were there."

Kagome asked and the blue-eyed girl stopped picking at the food on her plate to look up and the singer. They were at a local diner, the band mates had to wear sunglasses and hats to hide their appearance since the place was crowded with teenagers and late night couples looking for a place to stop by to get a bite before sneaking off for a little private romance.

"Yes, I am very grateful and I'm so sorry for troubling you."

She said it with a deep sincerity and the vocalist leaned forward and tilted her head to the side with curiosity.

"Did you run away from home?"

The miko noticed the young woman's clothes looked like they were worn, slept in and then worn again, not to mention her "purse" was larger than a college student's backpack. She perked up at that and became very defensive in her own polite and passive way.

"No, I came here because there were rumors that someone I know is in Tokyo."

Satisfied the miko broke eye contact with her to sip at the glass of juice in front of her, but Aki didn't skip a beat in asking the questions.

"What's your name? You never did tell us back in the park."

She jumped for the second time at him and like last time she quickly bowed.

"Forgive my late introduction, my name is Ayaka Usami."

Aki just closed his eyes and smiled once more at her reaction, but when he opened them again, they were very curious and inquisitive.

"So Ayaka once you're done eating I'll be more than happy to walk you home."

She picked at her food a little more, turning her fork over in her hand hesitating before answering.

"It's going to be a bit of a walk… my home is in Kyoto."

Kagome's jaw dropped and Aki's cool demeanor was lost with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Kyoto?!"

They both said at the same time.

"So you did run away from home!"

The singer stated and Ayaka dropped her gaze.

"I have to find him… this is my last chance."

They grew quiet and the miko had enough courtesy to wipe the shocked look on her face to one of understanding.

"Well, it's settled then…"

Both women blinked and the vocalist looked to her right and saw that the half-phoenix had abandoned her side and sat very comfortably next to Miss. Usami.

"Well, it's settled then, Kagome you go on back home and I'll escort Ayaka to a near-by hotel."

Kagome's eyed narrowed the slightest in suspicion as to why Aki was so keen on taking the blue-eyed woman instead of just giving her directions to a hotel. The woman was almost as surprised, but didn't want to take her chances on her own again in a strange and large city; she waved with a slight smile as the singer said her good-byes and left.

"Oh shoot, I didn't wish Ayaka good luck with finding that person. I hope she finds him soon, Aki and I can't keep coming to rescue every damsel in distress."

She opened the door to the demon's place and stepped into the silent room, but something was out of place, even with her dulled human senses, she still had her spiritual power and it detected a demon with an aura like Sesshomaru's, but different. She pinpointed the source coming from the living room, but it seemed that whomever the demonic power belonged to discovered her presence first.

"Ah Kagome, we meet again."

Mika Tohma, Sesshomaru's older sister and wife to the president of Tohma Studios stepped out from a hallway.

"My brother isn't here at the moment, but I would like to speak with you."

She motioned for the miko to follow her into the kitchen and she obeyed, slightly leery about the youkai's sibling, the singer waited until Mika took her seat before she sat down in her own chair.

"You have done very well in keeping up with our little deal; you've even done more than your fair share. I have the other half of the money right now."

The demoness reached into her purse for the large envelope.

"The money won't be necessary."

The demon woman paused and her golden eyes shot up to the miko's, that look sent a cold chill shooting down her spine.

"Is that so? Has your extravagant lifestyle living with my brother dulled your greed?"

The priestess narrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Extravagant lifestyle? Sesshomaru doesn't do anything of the sort with me."

"Are you sure of that?"

Mika stuck her hand into her purse, but instead of pulling out the money she pulled out a magazine and dropped it on the table, cover side up, right in front of Kagome.

"Are you saying he doesn't do anything like that for you?"

The vocalist looked down at the popular page turner and blown up on the front cover was the blurred image of her and Sesshomaru as they were running out of the nightclub; it was hard to see anything specific about her, but if she was spotted people would easily be able to make a comparison. The caption up top made her anger flare.

"Playboy's New Toy?! What the fuck?!"

The title was certainly more incriminating than the picture; at the bottom there was a box with black print saying "see more exclusive pictures on page 35". She flipped through the pages like a mad woman, the whole time the mixture of dread and anxiety was building and when she came to the correct section her heart dropped. There they were, the night he took her out dancing and… the night he brought her back to his home to do a little more than sleeping. All the pictures were blurred and in some they were just on the corner, but there was one image, horribly taken as it maybe, that was the worst of all. Blown up to a huge size and right in the middle of the two pages was Sesshomaru's window, the demon's back was facing the camera, but she was looking straight at it in nothing but her undergarments.

"I told you he plays around, I must admit the resemblance to you and this woman is striking."

She froze, Mika still thought that the singer was a man; she was Tohma's wife… not to mention Sesshomaru's sister, would it be okay for her to know.

"I swear this woman could pass off as your sister."

Both women looked down at the image and Kagome's face grew hot at the reminder of her little escapade; she laughed and rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. No, Mrs. Tohma couldn't know… not yet at least.

"It probably is my sister! She's just a free spirit, doing and getting what she wants, when she wants!"

The fake laugh died the moment she looked into the demon woman's eyes.

"And you're okay with that?"

Her expression quickly sobered into a slightly saddened smile.

"Lady Tohma…"

She addressed Mika with the high respect and the demoness perked up at it.

"… even if he does the things they say in this magazine, I can't leave… my heart has tied too many of its strings around him. If I sever them now, my heart will pay a bigger price than you can imagine."

There was a moment of silence and the miko gazed upon the pictures, her delicate fingers gracefully caressed the smooth paper where Sesshomaru's back was; the image of him was so perfect, but she was blurred, as if the person purposely hid her face to keep the shroud of mystery alive, but why would someone do that? The author was one of, if not the most desired being in all of Tokyo, if they wanted a scandal of this magnitude on him, someone would have at least taken the time to get a damaging photo.

"Do you know who took these pictures?"

She asked not bothering to look up; the demoness shook her head.

"My sources say they came from an amateur photographer who preferred to remain anonymous."

The singer scrunched her eyebrows together and gave the business woman a strange look.

"You have sources to find this out for you?"

Mika snickered and stuck a high class cigarette in her mouth and lit it in a flash.

"Kid, with money like mine, I could hire every underpaid man, woman and freckle-faced teenager in Tokyo and still die rich, so why would I go out of my own way to find someone as small as this photographer when I could hire a professional team to do it for me?"

She looked back down at the magazine and pushed it back to her without thinking twice.

"I better go have a long talk with my sister."

The demon woman took back the magazine and saw the sober look in the human's eyes. If there was anytime Kagome regretted her actions that night, it would be right now; looking back on it what the hell was she thinking? Had she no sense of self-respect? Of shame? The way she acted, was that really her, or was that some kind of alter-ego that came about by her enjoyment of being a woman again? While all this was swirling in her brain Mika was studying her, she had never seen a boy with such feminine features before and a voice that sounded like it belonged to a woman. She swore, with a little make-up and some fake breasts, she could turn this pretty boy into a full-blown girl, it wouldn't be hard.

To protect her brother, Mika would do what she must; she pondered how much persuasion it would take for Kagome to masquerade as a woman; the demoness knew that if anyone found out Sesshomaru was in a homosexual relationship, he would be ruined, no matter how many women he had afterwards, this one relationship with the girlish boy in front of her would follow him for the rest of his life. She opened her mouth to begin her manipulation when the sound of the front door opening stopped her short; the lost look in Kagome's eyes left instantly at the sound.

"Sesshomaru!"

She cried and shot out of her seat and the demoness was left alone, slightly stunned and convinced that there was a trail of glitter and stars as she ran. The miko slammed her body into the demon right as his back was turned; knocking him into the door with enough force to slam it shut.

"Get off of me."

He said trying to keep his voice calm and even; she just giggled and latched on tighter. With a rough shove he managed to detach the human parasite, but she continued to dart around him and as he was taking his shoes off she made her first sounds after 'Sesshomaru'.

"You'll never guess who's here!"

"Mika."

He said without looking up at her; there was no mistaking that unique combination of expensive perfume, cigarettes, and sex. It was no secret to the demon that his sister had an insatiable craving for intimacy and rode her husband during any free hours, through the night, and, when she was desperate, in his office. No amount of high class scents could hide the over-powering stench of bodily fluids being exchanged; sadly, now that Tohma Studios business has hit a peak, the demoness has been seeing much less of her husband causing some slight tension. On the other hand, the increased anxiety did make what time they did have together much more enjoyable and from what the demon could smell, she got her way a few hours before stopping by.

"Aw… why do you always have to ruin my fun?"

The miko pouted slightly and followed him like a love-struck puppy into the kitchen where his sister still sat at her seat; her demeanor was now very composed and confident; the writer never liked it when his older sibling looked like that because, more often than not, it was bad for him.

"Evening Sesshomaru."

Her lips twitched slightly, threatening to pull back into a wider smirk, she controlled it, but just; he didn't answer her greeting as he threw his belongings in various places.

"Is it too much to ask for a simple hello back?"

His eyes met hers, gold boring into gold; it was a dangerous clash of pride and ego where neither party was going to back down.

"What do you want?"

The demoness snickered.

"Always straight to the point. Oh well…"

She murmured quietly.

"I'm looking for someone."

Mika waited for her brother to react, but it was far from what she was expecting.

"Why should that be any concern of mine?"

Perhaps she didn't give enough information, she loved the sweet torture of spoon feeding tasty news about someone, but her brother never gave her the satisfaction that she wanted, the pining and groveling, the curiosity and pure desire of finding out what she had, and in the end she always gave up.

"Because the person I'm looking for is the heir to the Ryogan Clan."

A flicker of recognition shone in the demon's eyes, everything went still for a moment and it was that one moment where Mika got what she wanted, the knowledge that she had something on her brother. Was she an evil sister hell bent on seeing her younger sibling suffer? Nah, she got over that when she married Tohma, what she did was out of courtesy to the Ryogan family and to see the look on her brother's face.

"The Ryogan Clan?!"

Shit. Mika let a small growl escape before stopping it as the miko voice her surprise and the demon was able to slink away, get over his mild shock and get a grasp on what to say before his sister had a chance to talk to him again. For once, he was grateful for the brat's inability to shut up. Kagome couldn't contain her shock, next to the Higurashi clan, the Ryogans were famous for being a highly spiritual and extended family. Both families were close since they shared the same goals and purposes, but her family was trapped in the past while the Ryogans constantly changed and adapted to keep up with the times.

They were a peace-loving and accepting clan which was almost unheard of in Japan, it was rumored that they even had demons in their mix. She knew this was no rumor; her family always chastised them for "polluting" the pure human blood with the defiled demons. While her family accepted that all demons were not bad and some would even make good friends and allies, never would they allow one to join their ranks as a member of the Higurashi Clan, not even as a servant. What did the Ryogan heir have to do with Sesshomaru? Did he break some kind of deal with them?

"Yes, she took off about a week ago. The Head of the Ryogans had a… feeling that Tokyo was the place she would run to, so he asked me to find her."

The demon went still again, anger rose up sharp and poisonous; she was trying to pull him around by the nose and by god she was getting close to it when, for the second time, he breathed an unseen sigh of relief as Kagome chirped up again.

"Her? You mean that the heir is a woman?"

The demoness growled again, this time a little louder, oh this brat was lucky he was her brother's bitch or she'd take him outside and do very unpleasant things.

"Yes, I know how surprising this must be to you, Kagome _Higurashi_."

She emphasized the miko's last name as if the remind her of the traditional family line she came from. Again, the conflict of the old and new clashed, most people of Japan always saw fit that the oldest _son_ of the main branch of the family would be the heir. It was rare and only on special circumstances did women ever become the heir, Mika got hers through her father's choice and then her step-mother's. Kagome's family stuck to tradition and the old ways which always included that the men run the clan.

What little did change focused mainly on their women, they were now educated and trained to be strong physically as well as mentally, and as of recently, put into the higher status of training the next generation of priests and priestesses since an ironic twist of fate made their women more spiritually sound than their men. When she was still living and training with her family, there was only was person who could beat her: her father. But no amount of spiritual status would change the fact that outside the fighting ring, they were the lowest; deeply oppressed by strict rules and obligations, twisting and conforming to what the Head of the family always told them.

"No, not surprising, just… refreshing."

She was defiant to the end, she hated always bowing to the boys she knew she was wiser than, showing submissive behavior to the arrogant bastards who thought of them as nothing but chattel in their sexist minds. It burned at her insides that the respect the boys held for her never went beyond the battle grounds, the moment she stepped out of her miko garbs and into the traditional kimono was the moment she surrendered her power to them and they had the gall to shove past her when they walked back into the main house and sneer at the fact that she could do nothing.

"Anyway, she's been missing."

The demoness chose to ignore Kagome from that moment on, but the comment did not pass by her.

"It's been a few years so I've brought an up-to-date picture of our Kyoto Beauty."

She was a beauty indeed, dressed in a fine kimono of pure silk, light brown hair let down, some of it was in her face to accentuate the perfection of her light skin, blazing in a passive fashion were those two beautiful dark-blue eyes that captivated Aki from the beginning. Ayaka truly was a Kyoto Beauty.

"Hey, I know her!"

For the third time the miko had ruined the demon woman's chance to catch her brother off guard; the little mental barrier that the demoness built up to block any sounds coming out of the singer's mouth shattered and she was about to beat the brat's face in when the words finally registered in her head.

"You wha—"

"That's Ayaka Usami! Aki and I found her in the park and Aki gave her a lift to some hotel."

Both demons took their time digesting the information, Ayaka was here and apparently assumed a different last name and she made contact with the singer and her guitarist. This time, Sesshomaru cursed his young lover for her talking and he ran his hand across his mouth to hide the involuntary twitching; this news was something he did not need. Even in her stupor, Mika still got to see her brother and enjoy his reaction.

"Do you know where he took her?"

The miko shook her head, but an idea popped into her head.

"But I know where he will be if he's not there now! The apartment; when he gets back, I'll have him bring Miss. Usa— Miss. Ryogan to the studio!"

The siblings exchanged glances, Mrs. Tohma wanted to go and confront Ayaka personally, but that might scare the young woman away.

"Fine."

She grabbed her car keys.

"I'll drop you off and meet you tomorrow at your studio _with_ Miss. Ryogan."

She emphasized that word to get her point across that she did not want to go chasing the heir any longer; Kagome agreed and she dashed into her room and retrieved her now charged up cell before running back into the living room.

"I'll be back home tomorrow!"

She said while running to catch up to the demoness who was already out the door and to her car, but she paused and looked back at the demon who watched with an angered gaze. Why? Instead of just leaving or asking about it, she poked at his sore—so to speak—by running up to him with open arms hoping to catch one kiss before they parted. His palm hit her cheek and she stopped dead like a toy truck hitting a wall.

"Leave now while it's only your pride that is hurt."

Rejection stung like a bitch; she never liked it, never will. It closed too many doors that she always wanted open, and they always hit her in the face like this: fast, hard, and without warning. She stumbled back and huffed ready to bring out the storm that was her anger, but the demoness called her from behind and she decided to let it go for the moment.

"Don't expect me to give you _anything_ when I get back."

She huffed and ran out the door and got in Mika's fancy little sports car that would probably take the average man's entire life to pay off. They sped away, the engine purring quiet as a kitten in sleep; the two zoomed across highways and around traffic in silence. A creeping suspicion told Kagome that there was something more to Ayaka than what Mrs. Tohma was letting on; why would the demoness want to do something as time-consuming as fetching a run away heir when she could just as easily slap some money on the table and get her "sources" to do all the work? Why did she go over to Sesshomaru's place to discuss it? What did the author have to do with Miss. Ryogan?

"Tell your band I'll be in their studio for the day so I don't have to."

The miko would have thought her to be lazy, but in truth, it would be better if the vocalist talked to the band beforehand so they didn't accuse her of breaking and entering, have a huge scuffle, add a little security to the mix, and in the end it would do nothing for everyone's nerves, especially Ayaka's since her little run it with those two goons. She just nodded in a silent and half-attentive way before getting out of the car as the business woman drove away; she pounded at the numbers on her cell phone, put it to her ear and waited for Aki to answer.

Perhaps it was karma coming to bite her in the ass or déjà vu in the form of a lesson; she called his cell until her battery died and stayed up all night for him, but Aki did not come home.

* * *

Kagome was not in a good mood, no sleep, no food, and no news put a very sour taste in her mouth, but at the same time, irony decided to pay her a visit, her thoughts drifted to Aki for more reasons that one: there was the obvious he's gone and hasn't come back, but there was also a feeling of being placed in another's shoes. Did he feel this way when she disappeared? Most likely, if not worse. Everything went down hill when they got to their studio and had to explain to a very powerful demoness that Ayaka was not with them.

"Where the hell did he take her?!"

She screamed in the singer's ear after the explanation was over, she back away slightly into the safety of her band and shook her head.

"I don't know, but I know he'll be here. He never skips practice."

After several minutes the demoness had reached her breaking point when the sound of the door knob turned caught her attention; the band quickly crowded around the door and sure enough there was Aki looking slight disheveled.

"Ohayo (good morning)."

He said a little sleepily, bits of red burned around the edges of his eyes from obvious lack of sleep, hair looked like someone played with it too much, but there was a flicker of satisfaction, a look of something gone very right.

"Ohayo!"

A second voice cried from behind him, sweet and bubbly; Kagome recognized it immediately, but didn't believe it until Ayaka popped her head out from behind Aki. Her face was bright and refreshed with a huge satisfied smile pulling at her lips.

"Where have you be—"

The priestess stopped in mid-rant, her "sixth sense" alarm bells went off; her gaze went from Aki's to Ayaka's, he didn't come home, he didn't answer his cell phone all night, both of them looked strangely satisfied, she came with him to practice and seemed to have lost all her sheepishness from the night before. The miko backed away slightly with her hand over her mouth in shock.

"You… you _didn't_!"

The smile disappeared from the hanyou's eyes and he growled slightly.

"Hey! Get your mind out of the gutter! The hotel had a karaoke bar open 24/7; we spent all night there!"

The priestess quirked an eyebrow.

"Hotoni? (really)"

"Hotoni."

He said right back and he gave her a look of you-shouldn't-be-doubting-me-on-this-one; she mulled it over in her mind karaoke was rather loud when there's a lot of people which would explain why he didn't answer his cell and it was more popular in Japan than watching TV which settles the matter of why he looked so worn out and she looked so alive: he had too much fun and she had just enough to wake her up. Her anger and bitterness from earlier instantly vanished, of all people she should know how quickly time passes when there's music involved.

"Ayaka-chan! I found the person you were looking for!"

The young woman froze up, but quickly began to push through everyone to get inside; there was a frantic desperation to her.

"Sesshomaru-sama?!"

She called out and when she finally got past the band, Mika was there, much calmer now and waiting in her seat.

"L-Lady Tohma!"

She stammered out and looked around, but the person she was really looking for wasn't in sight; the demoness sighed in relief and stood up with a smiling warming up on her lips.

"Ohayo Miss. Ryogan."

The woman stiffened again at the sound of her real name and looked back slightly surprised that the only one who appeared to be affected was the half-phoenix; he didn't say anything and chose to listen to what the youkai woman had to say. Kagome had a different look of shock on her face; why did Ayaka call out for the writer?

"I've come to take you home."

She took a step forward and the Ryogan heir took several back in fear, bringing her arms up to her chest to make it harder for the demoness to grab her hand should she try.

"No! I can't go back now! I want to see him! I… I _have_ to see him!"

She was so adamant, never relenting, her desperation leaked out through her voice.

"Where's Sesshomaru?! Where's my fiancé?!"

Fiancé… one word with too much meaning. It could bring happiness and joy or sorrow and deep sadness all in one room as it did with Ayaka and Kagome. Now she knew what the demoness left out about the person she was looking for, no wonder she was taking care of this on her own; this fragile woman was betrothed to her brother. The miko felt sick inside; long tendrils of pain, betrayal and jealousy all slithered out from their dark holes, fastened themselves around her heart and squeezed hard on the delicate organ. She placed a hand over it, hoping to calm the pain, but it did little good and she found herself glaring hard at Mika who knew of her relationship with the demon and said nothing about this one.

"If you wish to know where he is, ask Kagome."

The demoness pointed a clawed finger at her and a flicker of hatred reflected in her brown eyes, now she knew why the writer despised seeing his sister so much, the woman obviously had a gift for being in charge and twisting things and people around for her entertainment; it was a great trait in the business world and disgusting in every other situation. But through it all Mika still gave Kagome a decision to tell the Ryogan heir where her fiancé was or not. Her hands fell to her sides, burying deep into pockets and clenching hard; her doe eyes looked over at the wall to her left, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze.

The miko made her choice and hated herself for it.

"If Mrs. Tohma is willing to give us a ride, I can take you to his place."

* * *

The doorbell rang and the demon smelled trouble, he contemplated not answering it, but knew that his ane-ue (elder sister) would rip down the door like one would rip the wrapping paper off a Christmas present; taking off his glasses he got out of the plush seat in his office, leaving his computer to sleep for the moment and walked to the front door. The first face he saw was one he hadn't seen in two years.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I…"

She quickly averted those deep blue eyes of hers, suddenly at a loss for words, the excitement from before had long abandoned her and in its place was the pure exhaustion that gradually wore her down. The demon did not say a word, he didn't have to, it was all in his cold eyes as he dared his sister as she stood behind Ayaka.

"Don't go glaring at me little brother, Kagome brought Miss. Ryogan here willingly, even showed us the way."

His gaze made its way to the figure farthest away from the door; she wasn't looking at him, her eyes were deliberately focused on the perfectly cut shrubbery beside the door. She allowed him one quick glance at her eyes and he saw immediately bitterness and hurt, but just as he was about to go deeper, she severed the connection by looking away. He quickly diverted his attention back to the young woman; she bowed to him and stayed there, waiting like a bride-to-be should while waiting approval from her betrothed.

"Of course, please come in Lady Ryogan."

Kagome's body went still and he knew it, she had never heard such politeness from him before, she never knew he could be; whether he was really trying to be polite or just rub a little more salt into her wound stepped back, away from the door and extended a hand in invitation. A flash of red hot anger seethed through her; the way he invited the heir in was the same exact way he did for her the night she agreed to become his lover; how dare he, that arrogant, self-centered bastard.

"Sesshomaru-sama…"

After a week of over-exertion, her search had finally come to an end, Takahashi's acceptance of that allowed her body to finally give in to its fatigue and she collapsed after taking only one step into the home. He caught her with ease and picked up her limp body bridal style, how fitting.

"Higurashi, I suggest you head back home now."

She silently nodded, even after her preparation, there was still a bitter sting; she knew that once Ayaka was brought back into the demon's home, she would no longer be welcome in it. She watched as he turned his back on her and closed the door, leaving the two of them to find their own way back home. Without a flicker of emotion Mika turned around and twirled her keys with one finger.

"Come on kid, I'll take you home."

"I'll walk."

She said and swiftly turned around trying her best not to allow the torrent of emotions following though her be reflected in her steps.

"I'll walk with you then."

She growled, but didn't try to take off; she knew from experience that she could outrun a demon. Even though she couldn't beat the demoness in a race to save her life, she always made sure that the demon woman was far behind her. Mrs. Tohma could have easily caught up with her, but she chose to hang back, allowing the miko to vent in her own childish way.

"You really surprised me back there; I didn't think you would actually bring Lady Ryogan to my brother after living with him for so long."

Kagome said nothing, keeping her hands in her pockets and her head down. She was surprised herself; she didn't think she had it in her to do such a thing, but then she remember it was just her style not to play dirty and Ayaka didn't look like she deserved her journey from Kyoto all the way to Tokyo to be in vain.

"In the end, I guess you're nothing but a naïve goody-two shoes."

"I know…"

She began to say and stopped herself short in the middle of an empty street, the business woman stopped as well.

"… that no matter how much I care for Sesshomaru, there's no way I can compete against a fiancée."

She scuffed the toe of her shoe against the pavement.

"You said it yourself right? I'm just one of many; the only difference is that my stay was longer. Our fling started out in anger and revenge, it never would have worked out anyway."

She continued walking and Mrs. Tohma soon fell into step behind her.

"But you fell for him anyway."

She paused and nodded before continuing down the street.

"You aren't the only one who was trapped by my brother's charm; you and Ayaka are very much the same."

That stopped her cold and she turned around for the first time and saw a soft smile on the demoness's lips. The same… she and Ayaka were… the same?

* * *

The Ryogan woman woke up from her fainting to the sound of a page turning in a book; she was spread out on a couch with a dark blue blanket draped over her.

"Did I wake you?"

That voice… she gasped and shot up to a sitting position; she blinked a few times to make sure it was real, that he was really there.

"For-forgive me Sesshomaru-sama! I haven't slept in days."

She turned away and finally noticed the blanket as it fell around her shoulders and a smile pulled at her lips as she wrap herself back up in it.

"You are very kind."

She said snuggling deeper in its warmth.

"I-I know my title as you fiancée holds no value to you anymore, but I had to try!"

She did her best to try to explain herself since she remembered he didn't like those who took their time explaining things to him. When he looked up at her from his book, all her confidence was lost and she averted those beautiful eyes away, back to the floor.

"Would you like something to drink?"

He asked while getting up and began walking towards the kitchen, but a tug at his sleeve stopped him. The demon looked back and saw her hand gripped it with all the strength she had left, her head still down and eyes never leaving the floor, stealing only a flicker of his clothing from the top of her vision. She wanted to look at him, but knew that she couldn't, if she did, her confidence would disappear again and she would let go of him.

"Please… let me stay with you."

* * *

Kagome arrived at the apartment in the middle of the afternoon; Koga and Shippo weren't there, choosing to use up their free time by going to a park to get some fresh air and maybe spook a few people. Inu-Yasha was in the kitchen waiting for the three minutes it took for his instant noodles to be done but at the same time holding a slightly perverse conversation with Miroku who held up a brand new porno magazine.

"See look, the American ones show _everything_!"

The half-demon blushed and looked back at his ramen.

"S-so?! That's illegal in Japan! How did you get your hands on it?!"

In Japan there was big business in sex, but with all their traditions, modesty, and high respect, porn censored the groin area in both men and women, but in almost every adult shop there was a special way to request the uncensored, explicit material from other countries and by the looks of it, Miroku found out how. The word PLAYBOY was sprawled across the top of a cover sporting a woman in a red thong with one arm covering her over-sized breasts, the other was doing something that made the priestess turn away and curse the woman for having no shame.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The miko said quietly to Inu-Yasha; Miroku made quick work of stuffing the magazine up his shirt and the hanyou jumped. She was so quiet, they didn't even notice her coming up next to him.

"T-tell you what?"

He stammered still recovering from the scare he had gotten.

"That he had a fiancée! You thought it was funny?! Is everything a sick joke to you?! Tell me Inu-Yasha, do you get some sick satisfaction like your sister in seeing people suffer?!"

She didn't mean to scream it out, but she didn't get her chance to vent out on the demoness since the woman took off. The half-demon jumped a little again, he had never seen such a whirl of emotions in the singer before.

"Whoa! Slow down Kagome, you don't know what you're saying."

She granted him the opportunity to explain himself before she ripped the vocal chords out of his throat.

"I didn't know it was that Ayaka until I saw her, but I didn't get a chance to say anything since she blurted it out on her own! It was many years ago Kagome, an arranged marriage set up by my father and the Ryogan leader; they agreed to begin preparations once Ayaka turned twenty."

She seethed, but somehow, knowing that the engagement was arranged made her feel a little better, he didn't propose to her and that took a little weight off her shoulders.

"Two years ago Ayaka turned twenty and as promised we and the Ryogans began planning for the wedding, but Sesshomaru flat out refused the match, but everyone kept wearing him down, almost chaining him to Miss. Ryogan. Why do you think he's in Tokyo?!"

She looked up at him, the anger from before slowly dissipated.

"That house he's living in now isn't the Takahashi main house, that's our summer home, but he took it over and claimed it as his own. The main house is back in Kyoto, so is the Ryogan's. Kagome, he _ran away_ from the engagement and made the place he's living in now his permanent settlement."

It was normal for families, especially ones of high class and power to have a main house for the most important members to live in and hold gatherings for all members; members of the main branch, in this case Sesshomaru, Mika, and Inu-Yasha, were expected to live out the rest of their lives in the main house. Inu-Yasha was the first to defy this expectation by leaving soon after his mother's funeral, Mika tried to stay, but her attraction to Tohma over-rode her honor towards her family, but even after her marriage she stayed back at the main house to run the family, but eventually she left to be with her husband in Tokyo, Sesshomaru was the last to leave, but instead of announcing it like his siblings and giving the family time to arrange for his absence, he just packed up and left before any of the servants woke up. Mika was put back in charge again, but it was difficult dealing with family affairs she wasn't even around for.

"The engagement would have ended there, but there was one problem…"

A sickening feeling built up in her stomach as she heard this.

"… Ayaka had already fallen in love with him."

* * *

She didn't want to beg, but she had used up all other resources, begging was the only thing left to her and she was desperate. She waited there in the deafening silence hoping that she had reached him.

"I am living with him, Kagome Higurashi."

Her head shot up to look at him, not believing his words; their eyes did not meet for his were looking out the window in the direction of Tohma Studios where the singer worked nearly every day. Her fingers suddenly lost their strength and her hand fell back to her side; he did her the courtesy of not leaving immediately after she let him go.

* * *

Two more days past, only four left until the concert and practice was struggling, was back to living with the band again, she didn't want to risk going back to Sesshomaru's and see that the Ryogan heir had replaced her, no… not replace, take back what was really hers in the first place. Aki had been acting a little different too, he kept to himself a little more than usual and was often seen daydreaming. The lack of focus from the two of them prompted Mr. K to be present during all hours of practice with his loaded semi-automatic.

"Take it from the top again!"

He ordered and frowned at the groups' collective groan and pointed his gun at them, they all snapped up and started again, but stopped when the doorknob began to turn and Ayaka stepped into the room. She had an eerie calm hanging over her; she scanned the room and froze when they fell upon the singer. Without even acknowledging anyone she walked straight past everyone, even Aki, not even sparing him a passing glance; she stopped right in front of Kagome and in a flash slapped her hard across the face. The band stood there stunned and Kagome held a hand to her reddening cheek as she straightened back up from the surprised blow.

"Sesshomaru-sama told me about you two, you knew this whole time, pretending to be kind, but in truth you were laughing at me."

Their jaws dropped at the accusation and the miko found herself shaking her head at it.

"Ayaka-chan, that's not what—"

Aki began to say, but she wouldn't let him finish.

"I don't want to hear it!"

She snapped and a look of hurt and shock intermingled on his face, but she didn't care at the moment and snapped her eyes back to the priestess, her gaze was as cold and hard as her demon fiancé's.

"There is no future in your relationship! Sesshomaru-sama is my fiancé so don't get close to him ever again!"

With that, she turned a sharp heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door on her way out. She rode the elevator down in silence brooding over the look on the singer's face; the boy honestly had the gall to look innocent! When the elevator doors opened she stepped out and made her way to the front entrance when a voice stopped her.

"Excuse me…"

She stopped and looked to her right where Bad Luck's manager stood, she couldn't hide her wide eyes in wonder of how he got here faster than she did.

"… I have a favor to ask of you."

* * *

The day of the concert and Kagome was getting the jitters more than she expected, the rush and excitement she usually had was gone; her time away from the demon had turned her into an apathetic and lifeless doll and Ayaka's slap had put the nail in the coffin for her. She wanted to just go back to the apartment and sleep, but there was no way she was going to cancel, first off this was huge for her band, to perform on the same stage where Nittle Grasper made their debut was an honor, second, if she didn't go Mr. K was going to sneak into the apartment and empty a whole clip from his 9mm into her gut.

As she stepped out on the stage with her band she put on her stage face, smiling and waving to the smaller crowd; it was a clubhouse and even though it was packed, the total number of people was only 500. There were people everywhere, crowding up on the second floor and she was sure that some people were suffocating in the front rows, but there was one area that was separated from the population: a raised platform right in the middle of the floor, light illuminated the two figures. Ayaka Ryogan and Sesshomaru Takahashi stood side by side on it; Aki froze and cautiously turned to the miko as she spotted them too.

"Go ahead."

She said and Aki nodded in agreement giving the cue for Inu-Yasha and himself to start off; she listened as they started, closing her eyes and losing herself to the pulse of the song, allowing the beat to tap her foot along with the music, _'He's here, that's enough for me.' _The music was vibrant and explosive causing a frenzy in the crowd as they all tried to make room so they could dance. She shot her eyes up to his and never looked away, _'Watch me…'_ She said quietly as her lips parted, _'Just watch me.'_

"She's going out to forget they were together

all that time he was taking her for granted.

She wants to see, if there's more

than he gave, she's looking for."

His eyes narrowed slightly not breaking the gaze; the young woman next to him saw their connection and shifted her weight to stand strong as if to say: I'm not giving up. _'She is his fiancée, she is different from me.' _The singer thought as she saw the woman with her strong face, confident and daring beside her betrothed.

"He calls her up, he's trippin' on the phone now

He doesn't want her out there and alone now

He knows she movin' it, knows she using it

Now he's losing it, she don't care.

Everything fell away into the darkness, she was still singing just as she would, still moving the same way, but something in her clicked right there in the middle of the song, _'She is unlike me, but… something must be the same.' _As she watched the blue-eyed woman turn her body towards the demon, the miko knew, _'We are the same…' _There was an explosion of sound and pure, raw energy as they entered the chorus, drawing the singer back to reality for the moment.

"Everybody put up your hands; say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love.

Feel the beat now, if you've got nothing left

Say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love.

Back it up now, you've got a reason to live

Say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love

Feelin' good now, don't be afraid to get down

Say: I don't wanna be in love I don't wanna be in love."

The darkness returned again and with came back the epiphany she had, _'We are the same about loving Sesshomaru.' _She found it strange that was the only similarity they had, but she accepted it and challenged it. _'Sesshomaru is a cold-hearted, arrogant bastard but he is… he is…'_

"HE IS _MINE_!!"

Kagome screamed out loud; a silence fell upon the building, the music stopped and everyone exchanged confused glances and murmurs; Ayaka gasped and looked up at the demon for assurance, but his gaze was locked upon the miko. She glared just as hard right back at him, _'I love him as much as I love singing and I'm not going to lose anymore, to anyone. It's my turn.' _

"Yours, am I?"

He smirked and the woman gasped.

"He is the worst at making statements."

Ayaka looked away, her eyes once more finding a spot on the floor; she knew she shouldn't have listened to that manager, this did settle things, but it wasn't in her favor. There was a new buzz in the crowd as everyone looked around to find any clue as to who she was talking about not knowing that the person was literally up on a pedestal with a spotlight shining down on them. Kagome looked back at her band and smiled everyone just shook their heads and immediately picked up right where they left off. There was a new surge of excitement, of life as everyone got back into the music.

"He was always giving her attention,

working hard to find the things she mentioned

He was dedicated, but most suckers hated it

that girl was fine, but she didn't appreciate him."

She sang out with such lightness in her heart, such a joy and it reflected in her music as she lost herself back into it. The demon never took his eyes off of her.

"She calls him up; she's trippin on the phone now.

He had to get up and he ain't comin' home now.

He's tryin' to forget her, that's how we come with him,

when he first met her, when they first got together.

The chorus rang out again with a new passion; she sang it out with all her being because it was how she felt, she didn't want this love, but she had and she wasn't going to let it go.

"Everybody put up your hands; say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love.

Feel the beat now, if you've got nothing left

Say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love.

Back it up now, you've got a reason to live

Say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love

Feelin' good now, don't be afraid to get down

Say: I don't wanna be in love I don't wanna be in love."

He watched her with intent eyes; the vibrancy in her, as he stared harder he could see the outlines of her spiritual power hum with joy and bliss, intoxicating all around her with that same feeling. He could feel them, soft hands caressing him with feather light touches and promising such sweet things; they touched him exactly they way the miko would have had she been there next to him.

"We break up; it's something that we do now;

everyone has got to do it sometime.

It's okay, let it go,

get out there and find someone."

Was it possible for such a negative song to have such a positive and optimistic feel to it? If there was a way, Kagome made it possible; her smile was big, eyes bright and glowing. The club-goers were in a caught up in this torrent of music and emotion and sacrificed themselves to it as they danced moving in a way that was hypnotizing.

"It's too late to be trippin' on the phone here,

get off the wire, know everything is good here.

Stop what you're doin', you don't wanna ruin

the chance that you got to find a new one."

He slowly felt darkness fall over him; there was nothing sinister about it and he allowed himself to be swallowed up by in; looking around he saw the miko standing right before him; they were alone. They were the same distance apart from each other, but she spoke as if she were right in front of him.

"_I'm sorry, I know what I said was weird, but it's… it's how I feel."_

Her voice sounded celestial, slightly detached, he figured it was probably the after effects of this little spell she cast; the demon rolled him eyes and stuffed his hands into his pockets

"_Shut up."_

Sesshomaru responded with an equally displaced voice and she bowed her head.

"_I knew you'd be mad. I just want you to know that it wasn't a lie—"_

"_I said shut up. It's fine."_

There was silence for a moment she stayed in her spot, protected by the darkness, allowing him to see only what she wanted.

"_Are you okay with someone like me?"_

She finally asked and he was quiet for a moment.

"_I'm yours, aren't I?"_

She blushed slightly, noting the mocking in his voice and her own became a little weak.

"_Ah well… I mean, that was—"_

"_I'm fine being yours."_

She looked up at him with shock and bewilderment; was he serious? The look in his eye certainly didn't give her any proof otherwise; the hardness in his eyes softened a little bit. This was his decision and he chose to continue what they had.

"_Fade us back to reality Higurashi; you've still got the rest of the concert to be mentally present for."_

There was a slight tugging feeling, he closed his eyes and when the demon opened them again he was back on the platform with the Ryogan heir by his side; somehow she knew that they had made contact, he could see it in her eyes, but there was no way she was going to crumble here, she was stronger than that and he gave her credit for it.

"Everybody put up your hands; say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love.

Feel the beat now, if you've got nothing left

Say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love.

Back it up now, you've got a reason to live

Say: I don't wanna be in love, I don't wanna be in love

Feelin' good now, don't be afraid to get down

Say: I don't wanna be in love I don't wanna be in love."

The rest of the concert went on without a hitch, glitch, pause, or second confession; the band took their bows and left the stage waving and trying to catch roses and other flowers as they were flung. Just like the last concert, Kagome left the stage alone, away from her band and the crew; she never should have ignored the way her hair on the back of her neck stood up. The singer didn't see the door that was supposed to remain locked suddenly open and flood with screaming fans; they poured into the tiny opening falling over each other, pulling and clawing, desperate to get through.

"Uh-oh."

She said quietly as the first group burst through and came running towards her, screaming her name with a collective shrill of voices, long nails out in front ready to grab whatever they could from the band member. She quickly turned high tail and sprinted further into the maze of the clubhouse; the swarm grew from just a handful to a mob hell bent on catching her. Instead of running towards her bands mates and the security she made a bad decision in choosing to run in the opposite direction. The miko took sudden turns disappeared in hallways full of identical doors, but they always found her and she had to scramble to keep them at bay.

"Having trouble?"

A young man with long black hair that looked more like tentacles than hair started running beside her, a cap was pulled low over his head to hide his face, but he lifted it up so that a pair of sickly violet eyes stared back at her with a smile she never should have trusted.

"Just a little!"

She cried back frantically; he looked back at the frenzy and shook his head with bit of laughter to go with his smile.

"That's the life of us celebrities I guess."

He laughed a little harder and she gave him a puzzled look.

"You're famous? From where?"

He ducked his head so she couldn't see the sudden anger, but before she could notice anything he lifted his face back up with a smile that was too sugar-coated to be real.

"I'm Naraku, the leader singer of Ask. My band is signed to Tohma Studios just like Bad Luck."

Her eyes lit up.

"Really? That's awesome! It's great to know that we're not the only ones signed!"

She smiled and Naraku looked back at the crowd before offering his hand to her.

"I know somewhere we can hide until they're gone."

She looked at his hand and then back at the crowd, they were relentless and she would probably collapse before they grew tired. Kagome took his hand and a shiver shot through her, his skin was as cold as death and made her feel like something vile and evil was crawling over her skin., but she didn't have time to pull away and take a chance with the mob because before her very eyes, her body became transparent.

"What the hell is this?!"

She cried looking down at herself, even as freaked out as she was, her legs continued to eat up the ground, barely keeping pace with the other singer.

"Our escape."

He said with a confident smirk and suddenly made a hard left right into the wall, she cried out thinking they were going to hit the painted-over wood, but to her surprise they went right through it, as if it was never there in the first place. She looked back as her body began to solidify for a moment, but when they went through another wall they became see-through again. They didn't stop until they came to a dark and dingy room, through the small window she could see the darkness of the back alley; hopefully the fans wouldn't find this room. Naraku let go of her hand and she became solid again; the singer poked and prodded herself just to make sure whatever effects of the spell were gone.

"Hey, thanks for the help back there. That was such a cool thing you did, where did you learn it?"

She said excitedly, who knew, maybe she could learn something new to play around with, no more using doors for her. He waved a hand, dismissing the gratitude and tossed her a drink.

"Something special that runs in the family and why wouldn't I help you? We're both comrades working in the same business aren't we?"

He grabbed his own drink and raised his up in a toast; she smiled and knocked them together before taking a swig.

"That we are."

She said and took another long drink; more than half of it was gone in just two gulps; she saw his smile widen as he sipped lightly. Conversations were light and filled with slight laughter and only thing that Kagome found strange, but never questioned was that he always made sure that she was drinking whereas he was still on his first beer. Both leaned back against the wall listening to the thunder of steps that would pass by the room every once in a while; they would go silent waiting for them to burst through the door, the Ask band mate even grabbed her hand once when they overhead one of the girls asking about this room, just in case they had to pull another ghost trick, but they always past and laughed at how nervous the other looked.

As she started drinking her third can a strange feeling crept up in her stomach, it was warm and sweet. The miko could feel her heart start to beat faster, her breath became shallow and her face flushed with heat; her core clenched in sudden need. Desire swept through her, wrapping her in veils of red silk, slowly, but sweetly suffocating her. The singer looked over at her companion as he watched her with calculating eyes, there was something wrong with the way he looked at her, sharp poison for the eyes. Her body pulsed with this primal need, she had to go, had to find Sesshomaru and get her release; she rose to her feet, but her knees were weak and she fell back down before even standing up straight.

"Where are you going?"

Naraku asked, it didn't sound as innocent has she hoped it would be and the Bad Luck member attempted to stand again, but failed. Something was wrong… something was horribly wrong.

"I have to go see Sess—ah somebody."

She quickly covered her slight blunder; her body temperature was rising to a fever pitch, she needed release, her body cried out for attention and the demon wasn't around to give it.

"You can't go walking around drunk like that; those girls will tear you apart."

He came over to her and her body flinched when he touched her, shivers shot through her spine; his hands were so cold and sickly, just like his eyes. He picked her up effortlessly and she felt repulsed by the contact and tried to get out of it, but her body wasn't responding the way it normally would.

"I'm not drunk… I'm… I'm…"

"Horny?"

He answered for her with a smirk and she looked up at him confused; the half-demon laughed loudly.

"The aphrodisiac in your drink should have put your body in a heightened state of arousal, thus throwing your body's normal functions, such as walking and fighting back, out of whack."

That look of bewilderment was still seen across her face as well as the light blush from the extra ingredient in her drink; the Ask member shook his head and continued laughing.

"You were just too easy."

Realization stole the breath from her lungs, she had been duped and a lousy way it was; drugs in the drink, an oldie, but effective method.

"You bastard."

She hissed and tried struggling again; she closed her eyes and focused on her spiritual power, she gave it a rest after the concert, but when she searched for it deep within her, she found nothing.

Her power was _gone_.

"_Sex is an impure act upon your pure bodies; violate your purity and your spiritual power will disappear because your body is defiled and no longer worthy of it."_

Even in this aroused state, she felt the hated combination of anxiety and disbelief swirl together in her heart. She had slept with Sesshomaru, does that mean that her power had left her? No, it couldn't be true, her elders were lying! They lied about kissing! They _must_ have lied about sex too! She used it not fifteen minutes earlier, why would it disappear now?! The miko squeezed her eyes shut again and searched all throughout her body, but there was not a flicker of the power she once had. It was gone. No… no! No! No! _NO!_

"NO!"

She let out in a ragged cry of pain and struggled more than ever in half-hysteria, the effects of the aphrodisiac were over-powered by her feelings of loss. The hanyou had difficulty dragging her across the room when her body thrashed about, desperate to get free; the hum of power that always sung through her veins disappeared, no amount of vulnerability could compare to what she felt like when she was stripped of her power. A cold hand left her arm and grabbed her by the back of the neck, he squeezed hard on the delicate nerves at the base of her skull; she was paralyzed so long as he kept the pressure up.

"That's much better."

She might not have been able to move, but she could still feel the pain in her neck where he nearly crushed it, dragging her like a filthy doll.

"Come along Kagome, I want you to meet the rest of my band."

They became transparent again as they approached the wall leading out to the back alley, melted through it and walked all the way to the end. There was nothing but brick on all four sides, darkness enshrouded the area, not even the moonlight could be seen. At the end of the alley four demons sat around looking quite bored until the two came into view; they turned on a few flashlights, providing enough light for Kagome to see all their faces and one made her heart drop into her stomach… Hakudoshi. He stared at her with curious eyes; recognition flickered a few times seeing her face at a certain angel triggering a memory of when they knew each other on different circumstances.

"Kagome, say hello to Ask, the young one in white is Kanna, our pianist; Kagura is the one with the fan, quite skilled with the drums, not much else."

The wind sorceress scowled, but said nothing and the half-demon moved on.

"This tall, dark, and silent creature is Moruyomaru, plays the bass and last, but not least is his Moru's twin: Hakudoshi, loves to tear into drums and sweet women."

The white-hair pervert smirked, showing off his signature fangs that all demons shared as he looked the miko up and down.

"Well, I don't want to take up anybody's time so we'll just get down to business. You are going to quit Bad Luck; you are never going to sing again."

He said it simply and she came back to reality to snarl at him.

"_Never."_

He laughed too casually for her liking and extended her out to the rest of the band, raising her several inches above the ground like an offering to them. The demons were quick to secure her hands and feet in heavy chains; Naraku let go of her and she dropped to the ground limp. It took a few moments for her to regain the ability to move her body, but even when she did the drug the singer shot her up with went right back to work making her weak. She could barely stand let alone resist four youkai as they pulled her to the far wall by her chains, hooking the ones on her arms to hooks above her head so she was raised up to her knees. The chains at her feet were attached to thick nails driven into the ground; when they were finished the band mates stepped away so their leader could have full access.

"That's such a shame, but don't worrying, I'm going to make you an offer you won't be able to refuse."

She lifted her head up to glare at him and he smirked, producing a camera from his pocket and holding it with one hand.

"Smile for the camera."

He said and took a picture; the flash illuminated the end of the alley and what she saw made her sick with terror. Whips with blades at the end, knives, baseball bat, crowbar, and a gun. She dropped her head as another picture was taken and in the brief moment of sight she saw she was in the center of some kind of circle, a shield circle, barrier caster, or power drainer, she couldn't tell which one it was, but what she did know was that it wasn't good for her.

"This won't sell, you can't see his face."

The suggestion in his voice prompted Hakudoshi to grab her by the hair and yank hard, she cried out, but quickly silenced herself; she refused to give them the satisfaction that they could get those sounds out of her. The half-demon snapped another picture and lowered the camera with a sneer.

"Alright, the light work is done. Moruyomaru, will you take a few pictures for me?"

The silent demon moved like he was a doll, not a thought for himself; doing nothing, but what was asked of him by his family. He took the camera and adjusted it slightly so as white haired demon left and the hanyou came into view he could capture both of them. The half-breed bent down, placing one arm around her shoulder, the other caressed her cheek and she snapped at him, jerking her head around to try and bite those disgusting fingers that dared touch her that way.

"Oh, we've got a feisty one."

He snickered for a moment allowing her to wallow in her own helplessness, the humiliation of having nothing but her teeth to fight with. Without warning he drove his fist into her gut and her breath slammed out of her, brown eyes grew wide and she struggled to drag air back into her lungs; the singer coughed and gagged until her breathing began to even out, but the hanyou didn't give her time to recover as he punched her in the stomach again. He felt something beneath her shirt, but decided to take a peek after this picture was done.

"Take it now Moruyomaru."

The sickly half-breed ordered as he positioned himself very comfortably with her; she felt disgusted having his arms around her, hands touching her face and neckline sending dark shivers from the point of contact rippling up to the top of her head and tips of her toes, but at the same time her body betrayed her with little flickers of need. Even like this her body cried out for attention; how pathetic. There was another flash, when the alley grew dark again the hanyou slipped his hand down to the end of her shirt and lifted it slowly; her heart slammed out of control; they couldn't find out, it would ruin everything!

"What are you hiding my sweet Kagome?"

She jerked out of his grasp, but there wasn't much more she could do chained up like a slave.

"I'm not yours."

She spat; Naraku sneered and turned to Kagura.

"Dear sister, shall we shed some light on the situation?"

Without responding the wind witch turned her back and lit several kerosene lamps littered all over, on garbage cans and hanging from rusted hooks on walls; she instantly wished for the darkness to return again as the back alley was filled with the flames' dim light. Satisfied, the half-demon once again reached his hand and lifted up her shirt, but this time there was nothing to hide behind; confused expressions were on the band's faces as the first of the wraps came into their vision. Not saying a word Naraku motioned for Moruyomaru to continuously snap shots as the shirt rose higher and higher; her padded and wrapped narrow waist came into view and the he almost dropped the shirt.

"No way."

He said in a hushed whisper; brown eyes went wide and she thrashed about frantically. The cotton material fell through his now limp fingers and covered her stomach again, but there was no way to erase the image from his mind; he broke out into an ecstatic smile and laughed.

"No way!"

He said again, but with such sick joy it made her taste bile in her throat; he made a greedy grab at her shirt and she couldn't escape it. Naraku gripped the material with both hands and lifted it high up so that her flattened chest and wrapped torso was available for all to see. The first of the pictures were taken and Kagome felt herself sink deeper and deeper into misery and hopelessness; it was over, everything was over. Her precious secret was now in the hands of the enemy, with this information, they could do anything to her concerning the band.

"Well I'll be damned, you fooled everybody! Ha! It all makes sense now! You're that girl Sesshomaru took to the rave and his bedroom and here I thought he was bisexual. This changes everything now. Kanna!"

The singer cried; the small girl her dressed in all white jumped down from her seat on a garbage can and walked over to him. She was without her mirror and seemed almost at a loss without it; her eyes looked up at him waiting for orders, silent just like her much taller brother. He smiled upon her in a brotherly fashion and reached inside his shirt, pulling out her mirror in the process.

"I would like to thank you for the use of your mirror, I must say it was quite the task absorbing all of hi—_her_ spiritual power; tried to take her soul too but ran out of room. Nearly broke the damn thing, but it should all be in there."

Hope was such a beautiful thing in times of despair and it was hard to believe that what this monster just told his sibling comforted her in ways he would never know. It wasn't gone, her power was just separated from her body; she smiled, even in a situation like this, she smiled. The hanyou didn't see her joy as he left her side to return the circular mirror back to its owner, he never saw for it disappeared as he took his shirt off, exposing the pale skin beneath and the burn mark in the sharp of a spider etched deep into the flesh of his back. The miko didn't like the way he smiled when he threw the shirt aside or the way he looked at her as he turned around, unzipping his pants in the process.

"Yes, now I can see it. I can see those feminine features so subtly hidden; looking through this disguise, I must say, you're quite the catch."

He drew closer to her with an arrogance not even Sesshomaru could top; she knew that look, it was that same look that the boys back home gave her whenever she had to pay her respects to them, but there was something extra to it: desire. She scrambled back, but with no where to go she could only push herself as far as the chains would go; she couldn't even cross her legs or use her hands. Naraku kneeled down into the cradle of her inner thighs and she struggled as much as she could, but there was nothing left for her to do. He drew in so close now, his body seated inside of hers, his face calm and drawing ever near.

"Naraku!"

A growl emitted from the hanyou as he turned around.

"What Hakudoshi?!"

He didn't like being interrupted; the violet eyed demon looked rather wary as he slowly approached his sibling.

"Brother, let me have a look at her."

The half-demon saw the look in his drummer's eyes and with a groan of disappointment he pushed himself away and allowed the pale youkai to take his place. Hakudoshi said nothing as he bent down close to her, grabbing her forcefully by the chin, shining a flashlight in her face, turning her this way and that, gazing upon her from every angle and suddenly it clicked.

"Say my name in your real voice. I know you've been toning down your true sound, so say my name like you would have before you disguised yourself like this."

He demanded and she managed to pull her chin out from his grip and smirk.

"What was your name again? Sorry, I'm afraid less important ones slip my min—"

'THWACK!'

He hit her just above her temple with the flashlight so hard that the bulb flickered for a moment; she saw stars in her vision and pain blooming on the side of her head. The sharp pain lasted longer than she expected, robbing her of breath, leaving her dazed, forcing herself to remember to take in air. She sucked in her breath through gritted teeth as the sharp throb slowly settled into place where a bruise was surely growing; it hurt way too much to keep her head up so she just let it hang limply, feeling as the few drop of blood pool and drip onto the pavement.

"I said: say my name with your real voice."

He reiterated; she didn't move so he grabbed her by the hair and yank hard. The sudden pull on her scalp brought out a cry as the new injury stung with unrelenting pain and throbbed twice as fast as her heart rate. She glared at him with those same defiant eyes, an outright challenge, but she had no bite to back up her bark; so long as her spiritual power was sealed up in that mirror and her body drugged she couldn't fight, couldn't escape.

"If you wanted my real voice all you had to do was buy me a drink baby. Is something the matter _Hakudoshi_?"

She said in a sexy voice, almost like a predator's sweet purr before it jumped on its prey; she emphasized the demon's name, changing the pronunciation to his second name, his first and second names were exactly the same except for how they are said. There is much power if a person's second name is obtained; even without her spiritual power, the singer was able to draw up from the dark energy around her and channel it into a violent gust of wind knocking the white-haired youkai off balance.

"Y-You bitch! How did you get my second name?!"

She grinned widely.

"You should really think a little more about the people you invite to parties; especially the one's I attend. That drunken demon cousin of yours let it slip rather loudly when you said one too many jokes about his inadequacy."

Hakudoshi rose and quickly backed away from her and out of range of her shot; she may have had his name, but without her power to provide any real sustenance to the spell she only had a four or five foot radius of attack.

"Hakudoshi…"

The hanyou said his name, an obvious note of disappointment and anger all rolled into one rotten package; the demon froze and looked upon his leader with a flicker of terror as to what Naraku could do to him.

"You better explain what the fuck that was all about before I make a second set of chains beside our guest."

He clenched his fists tightly.

"We can't touch her Brother. She's… she's a _Higurashi_."

The anger began to dissipate as his sickly eyes flickered back to the chained woman before him.

"We can't take advantage of her without her permission… I've heard stories, seen things about what happens when a demon violates one of their own. Their whole twisted clan is forged on revenge. Every demon that dared try anything was reduced to smoldering piles of flesh; they know… even if they never say anything, they know when something happens to their own."

The half-breed said nothing; through his brother's explanation, he never took his eyes off the wounded woman. His mind whirled and calculated options, opportunities, odds trying to come up with something that would still bring the same outcome to his plan.

"Hakudoshi, you're in charge of the camera now; don't bother me with asking when to take one, if it looks good, then take it."

He took the object out of one twin's hand and into the other's before walking back up to the miko, her head was still throbbing with pain, as much as it hurt, it was probably the only thing that was keeping her conscious. She could barely move; that strike she made against the violet-eyed demon drained her of the strength she had saved up. Her vision was blurring, her body protested all the violations against it, everything was telling her to just close her eyes, let the darkness consume. It was quite tempting; her body wasn't responding to her will, aching with dull and sharp pains, blood ran thick with the aphrodisiac still making her body sluggish and needy, the chance to just close her eyes and deal with the consequences after a nice, long sleep.

"That deal is still available: quit Bad Luck and the public will never see these pictures, never find out that their little boy-toy heart-throb is actually a woman."

She looked up at him, minimizing the movement in her neck.

"Take your deal and shove it you bastard."

She hissed and let her head drop again.

"Tisk, tisk, tisk Kagome, you'd think that an upbringing such as yours would yield a little more politeness. Oh well…"

He voice trailed away as his hands touched her flat stomach; it happened so fast that even with her trained eyes she didn't see his hands move. Her shirt and wraps rained all around her like white and black confetti; the cool night air raked its claws against skin that had never been exposed like this. Kagome looked down, not believing what was happening, but cruel reality slammed into her as the first of many flashes illuminated the porcelain perfection of her breasts. The searing white light played against her womanly curves; the half-demon came up behind her and ran his hands over the pale skin with that sweet smile on his face utterly enjoying himself as she screamed and thrashed about once more.

"Yes, that's right my dear; hate, let it consume your heart as madness over-powers your mind. There's no covering this up Higurashi; it's all over."

He purred tracing his claws lightly against her skin, focusing around her chest, feeling the delightful fullness they had.

"Everyone will know, they'll know you're a woman, a whore, a Higurashi, and a liar, but it doesn't have to be this way…"

He ran his hands all over her body, being careful to avoid the area below her belt, Hakudoshi's warning gave him a little insight to avoid being brutally executed by the powerful clan; it was not considered a violation if he didn't do anything to her down there without permission. As the flashes continued without any hope of stopping she finally listened to his words; cool lips descended to the shell of her ear and whispered sweetly.

"… I'll even give you your precious power back and I won't go after your demon lover; he was next on my list after you, but since I'm feeling so generous, I'll add that in with no extra cost."

Her lips parted in shock and the hanyou scum took his chance and kissed her full on the lips, wide open and disgusting; his slimy tongue delved deep within her and she felt like throwing up. She tried to bite it, but he pulled away and turned to the cameraman.

"You got it?"

He nodded and continued taking the pictures.

"I'll send that one to Sesshomaru. Considering all that I've got on you, taking an early retirement doesn't sound that bad now does it?"

Kagome was silent; she was so tired, everything hurt and no one was going to save her. Tears built up in her eyes for the first time, bitter and despised.

"Fine."

She said through clenched teeth and the hanyou's eyes lit up, obvious glee shining in them.

"In exchange for everything you promised, I'll quit Bad Luck."

The sound of defeat laced in her voice and Naraku grinned widely and shook her chained up hand.

"You've got yourself a deal."

She didn't look up at them, her head still hung weakly, staring at the filthy floor; the miko felt the chains being unhooked, the shackles around her wrists and ankles removed, once they were gone, her body fell to the ground, the circle around her was smudged out by someone's foot, breaking whatever seal and releasing the power it contained. As she lay on the soiled ground she was the half-demon put on a pair of thick gloves and pull out a glass ball with a stopper on top. Kanna came up, her mirror situated comfortably in both hands; the hanyou took the stopper off and both the orb and mirror glowed brightly. Glittering pale-blue mist poured out of the mirror and into the second object until it ran out; the stopper was replaced and pushed down as far as it would go. Even wearing gloves, Naraku still felt the burning of the pure power, hissing he placed it on the ground well beyond the miko's reach.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, but I'm afraid we must be off."

The demons were quick to gather all of their tools and any evidence of their existence before following behind their leader who waved to her.

"Oh and just so you know, if we so much as suspect any foul play from you, we'll send those pictures to every newspaper and TV station in the country. Adieu, my fair lady."

She watched them slowly fade until they were gone; she was alone now, but she couldn't sleep; now that she was on her side, the blood from her head wound trickled across her face. It was more serious than she expected, she couldn't take a chance in sleeping. She cried out as she tried to move, her hand stretched out towards the glowing orb; bleeding wrists protested the movement and hung limply while her arm extended as far as it could. It was too far and her body refused to move any longer, the immediate threat was gone and now was the time for recuperation. Pulling out her cell phone from her back pocket she flipped it open as saw that she had so many missed calls from her band.

"Shit."

She muttered; her body was so wasted she didn't even feel the vibration; flipping through the numbers she settled on one and put the cell to her ear as it rang.

"Please pick up… please pick up…"

She prayed knowing her consciousness wouldn't last much longer; she almost cried with relief as she heard the call being answered.

"Sesshomaru, can you come pick me up? I'm still at Ruido."

Her voice sounded so tired and defeated; she closed her eyes when he began his banter about doing it herself.

"Yes, I know that your place is walking distance from it but… I-I can't move."

* * *

The demon never had to control himself more than when he saw Kagome lying there beaten, drained, and bleeding; he asked no questions knowing that they could wait, just looking around told him most of the story. Four demons, one half-demon, he smelled some kind of drug, saw her spiritual power in a sealing orb some distance away from her, remnants of a draining circle around her, and the miko was a pitiful mess, topless and injured. Shrugging off his coat he picked up the glass sphere and placed it in her hands.

She knew what he was doing and with all her strength left and held onto it tightly; relief swept over her as his coat was wrapped around her, covering her up from the rest of the world. The singer whimpered as he picked her up and cradled her in his arms; a second set of tears built up in her eyes the moment he took off into the air, bounding from one building to the other. She cried silently, hot tears burning her eyes and staining her cheeks with wet streaks; her pride refused to let him see as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, but his nose picked up on them despite her best efforts to hide them.

She felt like a broken, useless doll as the softness of her bed conformed as her body was gently set down upon it; the jacket was still covering her, but her hands finally lost their grip on the orb and it fell to her side to the edge of her bed. Her hands stayed crossed over her stomach, but she had to move them for they were pressing down on where she was punched. The demon was careful when he removed the jacket, touching lightly, caressing softly as he examining and assessed her injuries always having to push through the growing rage. Locking away things like rage, anger, hate, fear and jealousy was very hard for anyone to do even if they trained for years because it was so easy to fall back on those emotions.

"I'll be right back."

It was the first thing he said to her and a rush of terror claimed her as she tried to move her hand to reach out and grab his arm, but it was he who touched her hand and made sure it stayed there.

"I said I'll be back, nothing more is going to happen to you."

She didn't want to be alone, the thought sent tendrils of fear make her heart beat faster, she almost started crying again as he left, but as promised he came back and nothing had happened. His first aid kit was rather extensive which only made her wonder why, but she didn't care at the moment; she sucked in her breath and shut her eyes tightly, trying not to scream as the alcohol was swept across her cuts.

"It'll be over soon enough."

He said making sure he kept his voice steady and even, revealing nothing to her; he wiped the grim off of her and made sure all of her wounds were cleaned. Sesshomaru took her right hand in his and brought it up to his lips and swiped his tongue slowly, sweetly, erotically across her wound and the skin slowly began to regenerate, healing right before her eyes until there was no evidence left, he did the same for her other wrist and ankles. The severe bruises growing on her stomach were more difficult, there were no cuts to allow his saliva get into her blood steam and heal them.

"I need to cut your stomach."

He said, but there was a tone of asking and she braced herself, nodded her head in permission, closing her eyes tightly. His head descended to her abdomen and kissed it lightly, claws caressing lightly, sending shivers of pleasure up and down her spine, but just as she got used to it she cried out in agony as his one talon made a quick, long, and shallow slash across the injury. Immediately he swept his tongue across, ending the pain and allowing the healing agent to do its number on her bruises. He worked at the rest of her body, leaving the gash just above her temple for last; when he finally got up to it he climbed on top of her, careful not to touch her, strong arms on both sides of her, shielding her from whatever was beyond them.

He dropped his head down to hers and kissed around her wound before healing it just like the others; maybe it was what was left of the drug in her blood stream, but even like this her body still cried out for the sweet attention. As he began to pull away, her hand reached out and meekly grabbed his sleeve; he turned back to her and saw the tears full of fear and pain fill up, but she refused to let them spill in front of him. Now that her body was healed, some functions in her limbs had returned.

"Don't leave Sesshomaru. Please, stay with me."

She said quietly, trying to hide the torment in it; his eyes never left hers. She was tired, drained, and wounded in places he couldn't heal, but he couldn't deny her pleading and he bent back down. In a flash he was back on top of her again taking her lips with his, hands roaming possessively, desperately as if he could erase whatever hurt her with his touch and she whimpered beneath him.

"Stupid little miko, I was never going to leave you in the first place."

* * *

**Okay, even I have to admit that I took **_**way**_** too long to update and I offer my deepest apologies. I didn't plan on it being this long, but it ended up being this length anyway. Over 100,000 words! Woot! This calls for celebration (I don't know what, but I'll think of something)!**

**Song: I Don't Wanna Be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem) by Good Charlotte **

**Me: (laughs maniacally) This will surely bring me plenty of reviews!**

**Friend: (Spits out the apple from mouth and struggles against the binds) Let me go damn it! Like hell I'm gonna be your sacrifice! **

**Me: (Eyelid twitches) But your not gonna be **_**my**_** sacrifice; you're gonna be food for the fanfiction gods! **

**Friend: (Color drains from face) Eep! Somebody help me!**

**Review or she gets it… please?**

**Thank you for reading!**

**-Love's Essence**


	7. Poison in a Pure Heart

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha, Gravitation or anything affiliated with them, this story is partially based off Gravitatio

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha, Gravitation or anything affiliated with them, this story is partially based off Gravitation.**

**Gravitation**

Chapter 7: Poison in a Pure Heart

Kagome cracked her eyes open as a column of light spilled into her room; the once perky morning person now laid in her bed with its soft sheets caressing her bare skin. She was alone, but unlike last night she didn't have a panic attack; things just don't seem as scary in the light as in the dark, but the light can still be hated. The sun didn't deserve to shine so cheerfully when she was feeling this miserable. The singer took her time lifting herself up into a sitting position, letting her feet dangle over the edge while the sheet fell away, pooling around her hips and exposing the smooth skin to the light.

She picked up her cell phone from her pants pocket as the clothing hung off the corner, threatening to fall, and listened to all the worried and at times frustrated voicemails. Tears burned at her eyes and she cursed them to the deepest circle of hell, now was not a time for tears; she was stronger than that. Using what was left of the dying battery she sent them a text saying that she was fine and was taking a twenty-four hour vacation, turning off her cell so there was no chance of them contacting her demanding an explanation. She was strong enough on her own, but if she heard their voices or saw them her strength would disappear.

"_No matter what your decision, I promise I'll always be by your side."_

"Shut up Aki."

She muttered bitterly, furrowing her eyebrows, and gripping the sheets at her hips tightly.

"No more of your lies."

Where was Aki when she was being chased, when Naraku found her, when those demons tortured her, when… they ruined _everything_?! Kagome knew it was easier to be angry at everyone, to hold bitterness and resentment in her heart so that what she had to do would be easier. She sucked in her breath as her hand crept up to her forehead and pressed it tightly there as the piercing pain came once again; this was no illness, there were no coincidences, there were only lies and cover-ups by someone she cared deeply for.

"I trusted you."

She hissed and yanked one of the sheets off the bed to cover her naked body, but when she pulled there was the distinct sound of something hard hitting the floor and roll for a few moments. The singer wrapped herself in the sheet and walked to the other side of her bed, saw her power swirling and glow inside the glass orb the size of a basketball; as its host drew near it glowed even brighter beckoning her to release it from the glassy prison. The glass was warm to the touch as fingertips glided across the smooth surface, but after a moment, the hands retracted back to the shelter of the blanket.

Kagome straightened back up and left the orb where it was, not bothering to release her power or even pick it up; she wanted to, but a little voice in the back of her head told her she didn't deserve it. Her eyes sent a passing glance at it resting so obscurely beside her bed, its bright and glowing aura automatically setting it apart from the bland décor. Her eyes looked away as she walked over to her closet pulling out a section of clothes that were buried beneath piles of others.

The demon glanced up from his newspaper to see the young girl setting out looking like… a _girl_. She had her hair long like it was the night he took her to the rave; the pale blue blouse showed off her curves and the low v-cut gave a slight view of her unbound chest while the black jeans hugged her hips and were long enough to cover the two-inch heels she was wearing. Brightly colored bracelets adorned her wrists, necklaces of the same style and teardrop earrings; overall a very feminine look for the girl who was supposed to be masquerading as a boy.

"I'm going for a walk."

She said matter-of-factly.

"I need to clear my head."

He was suspicious, in this get-up, no one would be able to recognize her, but with everything that was in the newspapers about him recently, there has been a spike in paparazzi appearances around his home; it wouldn't do him any favors if she just walked out his front door, through the gates and right into the clutches of those tabloid-makers. One word from her mouth would cause a frenzy of even more unwanted attention so he folded up the paper and stood up.

"Tell me where you want to clear your head; I'll drop you off somewhere close."

She froze and looked away.

"Th-that's okay, getting to the place by myself is all apart of the ah… head clearing process."

It didn't even sound remotely believable and they both knew it so she grew quiet.

"Uh-huh, I'm taking you anyway. No way in hell am I letting you get captured by those _things_."

He jabbed his thumbed to the front window; the girl peered out, but she didn't have to see the people in order to remember that they were there. Back when she was able, she could just sneak out the back way through the forest and jump the gate, but she always relied on her supernatural abilities to help her escape; she didn't even know her capabilities without her power. Could she run on the tops of the trees or jump the gate? Highly doubtful. Her body felt weak, exposed, vulnerable; it was unbearable, but she had to suck it up for now and just accept that for the time being she was going to have to take what help was offered.

"A few blocks away from Tohma Studios would be fine."

She finally said, giving up on trying to be proud, it was hard being confident about winning these little bouts if she had no muscle behind her punches. The demon nodded his head and motioned for her to follow him to the garage choosing the car with the blackest of tints in the windows so no one would get even a silhouette of who or what was inside. As they pulled out of the gate they were bombarded by a mob of people; the singer could see how their bodies pressed tightly together, converging into a human circle; among the many photographers there were some devoted fans screaming his name, a few had homemade t-shirts with his face on it, copies of his books and a pen in their hands, or a magazine sporting him on the cover, some even had the one with her in it screaming accusations and woes of why he didn't choose them.

"Animals."

The demon snickered at his use of irony and she just looked on at the swarm as small colorful objects were being thrown at the car's windows, one hit hers and she got a full view of a balled up mess that was a blue thong. She turned away fully disgusted with the whole ordeal; lingerie throwing: popular at many concerts, but it's not like it's going to change the youkai's mind; if he wanted any one of them he would have approached her already.

"Groupies."

She muttered with a bitter sound trying to block out their cries and little snippets of bedroom voices and moans; with some slight nudging of the car a spot opened up and the demon took it by slamming on the gas, rubber tires spun in place warning the group of his plans and they quickly jumped out of the way right as the sports car gunned it out of there.

"It'll pass."

He said speaking from experience, but even he had to admit the scandal with her was never as extreme as the ones before because no one had managed to get such a damaging picture. Whoever took that must have either have an unheard of camera that could take pictures at such distances or someone got past his defenses; he refused to accept anything less than a new break-through in camera technology. The scenery became a multicolored blur as the car sped through neighborhoods and back roads until it reached the main streets of the city and the traffic brought everything to a standstill, but she could see Tohma Studios' tall structure in the distance getting closer.

"This is close enough for me."

Kagome announced and undid her seat belt; the demon looked out the window and judged from where they were the building was still a good ½ mile away. Regardless, he didn't object when she got out of the car, but looked back through his rearview mirror as she paused and stuck her head back in.

"I might not be back until late so you'll have to take care of dinner."

She waved once before straightening back up and slamming the door shut; she couldn't see through the other side of the darkened glass, but she had a feeling that the demon was going to watch her until she was out of sight so the singer had to turn at the closest corner. To humor him she ran in the direction of the Studios, but once the car was out of sight she quickly ran down the nearest street heading east. She had no choice but to get a taxi since running was now out of the question.

"This sucks."

The vocalist hissed, she tried running, but after only a few miles her lung felt raw and her legs were searing with a burning pain; she had never felt this weak before. For the first time in her life she was a normal human girl, no special abilities save for her flexibility and –if she was lucky—quick reflexes. She stopped a few blocks short of her destination to deter suspicion from the driver and quickly paid him without a word. Kagome waited for him to drive off before walking deeper into the darker side of Tokyo, an area where hordes of demons gathered.

Regardless of being completely cut off from her spiritual side she could still feel the dark chill that paralyzed her limbs and made her blood turn cold whenever an ominous presence was around, but it wasn't just one chill she got, every building, street, and open space bled with it. In the corner of her eye she saw hunched figures shifting around in the darkness, they were following her. As she quickened her pace so did they until she was running, the echo of her heels filling in the empty space; her destination came into sight, the promise of minor protection was more than enough to have her go into a full sprint.

'Clang! Ding! Ding! Clang!'

The sound of some kind of hollow metal banged against the door as she opened it; she silently dragged in a huge breath of air and resisted the urge to look back, she knew for the moment she was safe from the demons outside, but it was only a matter of time before the demons in this bar would figure out that she was easy pickings. The place was purposely dark, luckily for her there were several disconnected souls floating around providing an eerie pale light. She felt a wave of sadness, desperation, and pain as she passed by one of them; her steps faltered as the orb drew closer to her, it knew she was human, it knew she could save it.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing in this place?"

Her eyes scanned the room at the cloaked and misshapen human figures; they were all staring at her like a wolf pack stares when a sheep has just walked into its den. There were whispers in codes she didn't know, too many snickers and subtle signs exchanged and she no longer had the ability to figure them out. Something caught her eye, a dark red scaly arm three times the size of a normal man's, the muscles stretching the skin in ways that had her stomach turning and the four talon fingers weren't much of a comfort either as it became a blur.

When the arm stilled again a whirling white orb was in its clutches; the claws brought the soul down and the demon opened its fang filled mouth; she knew and the soul knew what was going to happen as it frantically whirled around, but nothing it did could break the demon's hold. Kagome's lips parted in disbelief as claws and mouth came closer together; she took a breath in to say something, she couldn't let it happen, not to that poor soul trapped in such a horrible place.

"Hey mortal! I'm talking to you!"

The growl tore her eyes away from the youkai to face to bartender; he was probably the most human looking creature in this bar, therefore the safest to converse with; the more human they look, they more human they act. He had a dirtied rag in one hand that was currently working to clean the stains off the glass held in his other; he reminded her of those body builders after all the oil and tanning lotion came off: tight in his work clothes with muscles that could rip a stack of phone books and that expression alcoholics get when they're angry: one part enraged, two parts frustrated and five parts completely insane.

"Ah sorry, zoned out for a minute."

She walked up looking as apathetic as she could, in a place like this any sign of fear or weakness was a death sentence.

"I see, so did you zone your merry way out here?"

Well, there was no sense in delaying the inevitable, besides the longer she stayed in here the more in danger she was.

"I'm looking for information on a certain half-breed and I was hoping you could help me out."

The demon snickered and turned away, she took her chance and looked back at the other youkai who had the soul in his clutches, but when she looked back, there was one less light in the bar and a sick feeling filled her stomach, part revulsion, part rage.

"And why would I tell you anything?"

Despite wanting to jump out of her seat and stab that soul eating monster in the heart, she knew that there was nothing she could do; her last shred of protection could not be used for offensive unless the situation called for it. The singer turned back to face the bartender and very confidently looked into his straight black eyes.

"Because my ace says that you have no choice."

He burst out into a booming laughter that made some of the cloaked figures jump a little in surprise, but she was able to keep her composure. He drew in close to her; she could feel his hot breath on her neck and see the black skin shifting beneath the façade of the pale human skin.

"You don't say? Well then Little Miss, out with it because a hollow threat like that isn't going to get shit out of me."

Her lips twitched into a little smile; the conversation couldn't have gone any better for her.

"Oh how rude of me! I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid I never told you my name…"

She stuck out her hand greeting; her voice cheery and carefree.

"Kagome's my name, Kagome Higurashi."

A sudden stillness fell over the bar; every black muscle in the bartender's body stiffened and locked into place. His teeth clenched, setting his jaw into a hard line; there it was her trump card: the invisible shield that protected her from harm and she didn't even need her spiritual power. The demon narrowed his eyes and sent a slight pulse of his aura and felt nothing from her, not a drop of power nor a hint of anything extraordinary, just a normal human girl.

"How do I know you ain't bullshitting me?"

He finally said as doubt set in; although still a little wary, he leaned in close to her in intimidation.

"If you're a Higurashi, prove it."

The crowd joined in, gaining strength through mob mentality, they shouted and demanded proof, but secretly crossed their fingers that whoever she proved her identity on would not be one of them. Before the bar's chants and cries reached their zenith Kagome whipped her hand in and out of her pocket and slammed a folded piece of aging paper on the table. Instant silence fell upon them once again, more that half jumped and the bartender flinched and looked at the paper, but dared not touch it.

"This…"

She said picking it up and unfolding it once.

"… is the Higurashi seal."

Unfolded it another time.

"Now there are only two ways I could have gotten this seal…"

A third fold came undone.

"… one: I'm telling the truth and this is my seal or two…"

She unfolded the last one and placed the seal down in front of him.

"… I was able to apprehend a real Higurashi and steal this from them."

In black ink was her first and last name written in ancient kanji and beside it was the symbol that struck fear into demon's across many lands: a narrow triangle inside a circle with a swirling border around it. The narrow triangle was the arrow, the circle the Sacred Jewel, and the swirls were the pulses of power the Tama gave off while it was shattered by the arrowhead. It was a symbol of power, status, and respect; after all these years the Higurashi Clan still had the Shikon no Tama and still produced the strongest spiritualists in all of Japan.

"Either way, the advantage is still mine because whether or not I'm a Higurashi, you touch that paper with your filth demon hands and you'll be incinerated within seconds."

She pushed the paper towards him and whether out of pride or suspicion he didn't move.

"You can touch it if you like to find out if it's real or not, I mean, it's only your life we're toying around with."

He knew what game she was playing and his nostrils flared at the thought; it was down right blackmail, but he valued his life more than his ego.

"What do you want to know?"

He said bitterly, it was a tone that promised vengeance for the wound to his demon pride; she could easily be killed, but he already saw that she had reflexes like it was nobody's business, if he or anyone else made a move his ass was as good as fried. She knew it too and her own pride wanted to kick him while he was bent over with one hand tied behind his back, but common sense told her to tread lightly.

"He's a half-demon who goes by the name Naraku, he's the lead singer for Ask, a rising new band, and judging by that look on your face I'd say you know him quite well."

The demon composed himself, but it was pointless, that flicker of recognition did him in; for the first time he put the rag and glass down; of course he knew Naraku, everyone in this bar held a secret contempt for the Onigumo family; that singing career they had was born from nothing more than boredom from their usual routine of torture, exploitation, blackmail, and murder.

"We all do."

He said motioning towards everyone and they all sunk lower as if the bartender admitting that was condemning them to death. The demon stared at her hard and resentful.

"You will ask me one question, that's all this life I have is worth. Choose carefully Higurashi for if you ask the wrong one, you'll get nothing from me."

Normally she would have demanded he spill every little detail he knew, but in truth all her questions were pointless except for one…

"Where can I find Naraku?"

"In many places."

He said simply, falling back into his usual routine by picking up the rag and glass; she leaned forward a little.

"Well, where can I find him now?"

He glared at her as if he expected her to already be gone.

"I answered your one question now go."

She rose from her seat trying to subdue the growing agitation with the demon as he turned his back on her.

"You gave me a general answer, I need specifics."

The bartender didn't turn back around.

"Specifics weren't in the agreement, I gave you one answer to your one question; now get out."

The singer slammed her hands down on the bar.

"No! I need to know where Naraku is right now!"

He spun around so fast she didn't see it and drew closer to her; a dark red bled into the white of his eyes; lips drew up into a snarl revealing sharp and discolored fangs.

"Get out bitch! I don't need your kind here!"

She swallowed the fear that was making her hands shake and got closer to him, forcing her eyes to not look away from the demon's.

"Are you forgetting the little incentive I have? I could burn you right now and no one would give two shits about it."

"Then do it and see how well you make it out of here. You kill me and you're not leaving this place alive."

From behind her she felt the cold shivers crawling at her skin as the youkai in the bar all rose and began forming a circle, trapping her like the sheep she was.

"Are you monsters forgetting who I am? I'm a Higurashi, you kill or hurt me in any way and you're as good as dead!"

From behind her the bartender laughed and she whirled her head back around to him, snatching up her seal in the process.

"They're not so scared of you anymore Girlie."

The bartender spoke for all of them as the horde drew closer.

"We've been scanning you and you don't even have a hint of spiritual power; that paper you have may be real, may have the ability that you say it does, but it's not yours. You probably stole it from the Higurashi while her back was turned; which means all we have to do is wait for you to use that seal on one of us which will leave you open to attack."

The circle was tight and three demons thick; she didn't believe it.

"You would sacrifice one of your own for an opening?"

The bartender sneered and a small laugh was scattered about the mob.

"We youkai are not like you ningen (human or humans), as you said before, if one of us dies, no one will care and you are too tempting to let slip through our fingers."

She could see them in the corner of her eye, claws out and mouths dropped open, crouched low in preparation to strike. Kagome was stunned, they were really going to do it, they were really going to kill her; gripping the paper tightly she whirled it around and extended it out in front of her.

"Stay back!"

She cried and they leaned back, but no feet made a move away from her; she moved around constantly.

"I swear if you come at me I'll kill you all!"

There was more laughter coming from the bartender behind her.

"Don't fret little girl, your death won't be so bad. Many of us haven't tasted human flesh or had a sweet body to ravish in quite some time; we'll even take good care of your soul, a nice little orb to join the others."

She looked past the demons to the floating souls behind them, she thought of the one devoured, of the others that were still trapped in this place, to die in such a horrible way.

"I refuse!"

She screamed.

"I refuse to fall victim to the likes of you! I will not die here and not by your hands!"

There was a collective laughter all around her; her body shook with fear, heart beat so hard it hurt, eyes scanned for the first sign of attack. It came from behind her, a swipe of sharp claws across her back, tearing deep cuts into her skin; she cried out in pain and turned to the bartender, her blood dripping off his talons; she thrust her hand out to slam the seal into his body when another sharp pain seared into her arm. Kagome looked back and for a millisecond time slowed down; she saw the demon that caught her arm with his sharp nails and rake them down the length of her forearm.

The rest of the horde jumped into action; her face reflecting in their maniacal eyes, as time sped up to full speed she retracted her arm away from the bartender and swiped it across the closet demon; the monster immediately burst into flames and reeled away from her screeching and shriveling, ripping its own burning flesh off to stop the fire, but it did no avail. The others only avoided touching him, never pausing in their actions; her body and theirs were in a whirl of constant motion, she felt another cut, another bite down on her and she swiped at them each time, but that wasn't to say she was winning, she was slower than she had been in years, she lost count of how many times she was hit and was already starting to feel dizzy from blood loss; it dripped off their fangs, off her wounds and theirs, a red so dark and deep it was too much to keep up with; she couldn't stop from slowing down.

The noise fueled her fear as much as the sight of them around her; their snarls, screams, and cries drove her to the point of insanity, the point where instinct took over. Her body moved more out of muscle memory than anything else: see the punch coming, move to the right, claws on her left, strike the wrist, talons ripping into her shoulder, pivot feet and throw her shoulder into the punch; a screech from behind triggered her leg and without looking she took a blind kick and hit something soft but solid, but the successful kick didn't come without repercussions as the demon bit down into the flesh of her leg, holding her there until she struck him with the seal. The bartender waited unmoving until Kagome had backed up into his range of attack, when she did he reached out and in one quick motion grabbed her hand clutching the seal.

"Go ahead boys, she's all yours!"

He cried and there was a sudden frenzy more terrifying than the last as they came upon her and she could only watch with wide eyes. Shit, she was in trouble.

'CRASH!'

A blur of silver shattered the glass window and passed between the space of Kagome and the youkais' claws. There was a pause before a whole row of demons fell apart into diced, bloody heaps of flesh; everything stopped except for the turning of heads towards the far end of the bar. The crouched figure in the corner straightened up and slowly turned around; an acid whip which sprouted from the demon's fore and middle fingers glowed a dangerous green. Gold eyes glowed in the darkness as crimson took the place of the white of his eyes.

"Sesshomaru!"

Kagome cried out in surprise, but quickly quieted her enthusiasm as he came within range of the light; he had blood spattered across his clothes just like them, claws out just like them, lips pulled back in a snarl that showed off his fangs just like them, eyes dyed red… just like them. Kagome knew he was a demon, she never forgot that but what she never noticed, or, more correctly, didn't want to see, was his demon nature, the darkness that all demons had in them.

"Sesshomaru?"

She said again, her voice was quieter, but it still rung over the sudden silence in the room; he didn't look at her, his focus was completely on the mob. They were confused, do they go after Kagome again or challenge this new intruder?

"What are you standing around for?! Get him!"

That was all the incentive the demons needed from the bartender as they launched themselves at him; the inu-youkai (dog demon) growled low in his throat like feral animal and leapt in the air to meet their attack with his own. He passed through the densest part of the crowd and emerged on the other side covered in more blood, but unharmed; most were reduced to pieces before they hit the ground. There was only a handful left, but they still had the confidence to come at him once more; with his back still to them Sesshomaru lifted his arm that held the whip and jerked it in their direction. Blood exploded everywhere, splashing onto Kagome and the bartender; in her own fear she never noticed how tightly the demon was gripping her arm, his own fear causing such constriction.

"Pureblood…"

He whispered in both fear and awe; upon hearing this Sesshomaru snapped his head towards them. His eyes had completely changed: blood red except for his irises which were a vibrant turquoise; he turned his body to face them and a dark crimson aura spilled out from him, radiating through the room and burning all that it touched. There was so much anger fueling those red flames; blinded by the burning rage, there was nothing he could think about except to indulge in such sweet violence, it was a high that felt too good. He took a step forward, his eyes on the youkai holding her; the look in his eye made her realize that he didn't even see her and was going to strike at the bartender and most likely take her down too. They were both frozen in place and he even whimpered a little as the author raised his arm up, the recoil before the strike.

"Sesshomaru you're mine!"

That stopped the dog demon cold; she was desperate and needed to wake up the Sesshomaru she knew, not this killer covered in blood and blind to the difference between the innocent and the guilty.

"This thing that is manipulating you has no ownership over you so don't give into it!"

They both began struggling, she with the entrapment of the youkai, him with his demon nature, the temptation and call of blood. She pulled as hard as she could, gaining a step towards him.

"So wake up and be with me damn it!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs; the dog demon hung his head as his aura swirled chaotically around him, his hands fell to his sides. In the blink of an eye he threw his head back and let out a feral cry, one that made her knees buckle with terror, one she never wanted to hear again; his aura exploded around the room, whipping her hair in random directions, so hot that her skin was at the point of burning, but soon after it died away. She saw through the dust and when it settled enough for her to see, the silhouette of his figure caught her eye.

He was standing normally again and when she saw his eyes, they were the beautiful gold that she knew; in a flash he disappeared and when he reappeared his talons ripped and tore at the bartender's face; he screamed in agony and let her go. Fearful that he had regressed back to his primal instincts she curled up into a frightful ball; but a gentle hand slick with blood grabbed her elbow and forced her to look up. A low growl built up in his throat as their eyes met.

"You stupid girl!"

He yelled in her face and pulled at her arm forcing her to stand on her feet.

"Do you want to die?! Damn it I've met some stupid people in my life, but you take the fucking cake!"

He pulled at her arm again and started running, dragging her along, but only after a few steps she collapsed in the middle of the bloody mess, her own blood mixing with the youkai's. The demon looked back to yell at her again when he finally saw just what condition she was in; in his anger he never saw the extent of the gashes in her skin or the deep puncture wounds from all the bites. Her breathing was heavy yet shallow; each breath sounded forced and laboring; the demon growled low in frustration.

"Stupid, stupid girl."

He muttered, quickly picked her up bridal-style and ran out of the collapsing building as the flames from before finally caught the wooden support beams. Outside they were waiting, more demons with the scent of blood in their noses and the only ones to make it out of the burning mess were the writer and in his arms was a bleeding human girl. In their hunger the demons did not realize the extent of Sesshomaru's abilities as they sprinted towards them in an attempt to steal Kagome.

"I don't have time for you pathetic spawn."

The acid whip came out; he swung it around in a circle and angled it just right to hit the demons as they came. Bits of flesh and innards bubbled and fizzed from the acid, giving rise to a foul smell of burning and melting meat, but the demon ignored it all as he walked briskly to his untouched car in front of the bar and climbed in, placing the singer in the passenger's seat. He jumped in and immediately drove off taking his cell phone out in the process.

"Why did you…"

He paused in dialing the numbers as the vocalist mumbled in a daze.

"… follow… follow me?"

Her mind flowed in and out of conscious and semi-consciousness.

"Because I knew you weren't going to clear your head. Whenever you lie you do something dangerous or stupid."

He could see and small smile coming and going on her lips.

"I wish I… knew you that well."

Her eyes fluttered closed; she was so tired again and just wanted to sleep, but a stubborn hand kept shaking her arm jarring her out of her dream-land.

"There's no sleeping for you yet. Wait for a little bit, then you can sleep."

She sighed tiredly and still kept her eyes closed.

"Mm-hm…"

With the phone ringing the Takahashi looked back to see her slumped over in her seat, a dark red coated her skin and oozed from deep cuts, stained the upholstery and filled the car with the scent of her intoxicating blood.

"Damn it."

He muttered, but was drawn back to his cell when he heard the familiar voice of his sister.

"Mika, I've got a situation here that requires a bit of your expertise."

He growled obviously not liking the way the conversation was starting off and gripped the steering wheel.

"I don't care! Higurashi is dying; now _get_ to your place and _find_ that book about all those ancient seals and shit."

Another growl came from him.

"Just get that book. I want an immediate call once you've found it."

He snapped the phone shut and threw it behind him pressing his foot on the gas until it hit the floor; it was too slow, there wasn't anymore time. She was bleeding too fast, fading too quickly. When he finally got back to his place, Kagome did not wake up; her body was draining quickly and if he didn't do something that moment she would be gone. He was tempted to break down every door and wall to get to her room, but managed to hold onto his anger long enough to get there with the house still in one piece. The orb with her power glowed at the presence of its host; Sesshomaru was quick to throw a blanket over it so he could pull it beside the once-miko. The sound of a very faint ringing caught his pristine ears and he automatically reached for his back pocket only to remember that he threw the cell in the back seat of his car.

"The world is conspiring to kill you."

He muttered to the unconscious girl and disappeared to the vehicle; when he returned both dog demons were speaking rapidly towards each other, mostly arguing.

"I'm telling you it's glass… I don't care if the book doesn't have it, I'm looking at a glass seal straight in the face now tell me how to release that spiritual power!"

He never done this much yelling in months with his sister, usually their fights were a little more elegant and cunning, this was raw and brutal; his free hand ran through silver hair as an act of self-calming while his older sibling talked.

"That it?"

He looked back at the shining blue light.

"Fine, hold on."

The demon threw the phone on the bed without hanging up and strode into the singer's closet with a combination of impatience and relief; he didn't question that she had several traditional weapons hidden behind clothes, knowing her, he figured it just another quirk to have dangerous object where she could have quick access… or trip on them, whichever came first. A pair of kahli sticks resting against the wall peaked his interest and he grabbed one of them. The hardened and reinforced bamboo was light in his hand, easy to move since its length was only two feet.

Kahli sticks were not found in the usual priestess arsenal because they were more often associated with male martial artists. The sticks were brutal weapons to have, leaving behind all the grace and beauty of the arts and settling for sheer power, simple attacks, but the power they could deliver made up for that. The demon settled his fingers around the base of the stick, he could feel the smoothness of it where Kagome's hands had no doubt worn and polished it from so much use; he could almost feel where each finger gripped the stick. Stalking back to the orb he rolled his wrist to test out his range of attack before swinging the weapon back and with all of his strength as a demon brought it down.

Blinding pale blue light engulfed the room and when it faded the kahli stick was frozen inches above the glass surface; an invisible pulse cushioned his strike. Growling he drew back and swung again at a different angle, but got the same outcome; a third strike… fourth… fifth…

"Damn it!"

He snatched the phone back up and tried not to grip the weapon or the cell too hard.

"It's not working."

He snarled and tried to even his tone out.

"_Are you the one who tried to break it?"_

His sister said with a haughty air.

"I believe we both know the answer to that one."

Mika huffed; he could almost picture that little hand of hers going to her hip.

"_Well then of course it didn't work stupid; it's Kagome's power so he's the one who has to set it free."_

The demon sparred a glance at Kagome.

"He's a little busy being unconscious at the moment."

He listened to her berate him for a moment and waited for the stroke of genius that he—for the time being—was unable to possess. When Mika was done an eyebrow was raised.

"You can't possibly be serious."

He could hear the book being shut and set down somewhere.

"_I already told you, seals, spells, curses, what-have-you, they all have loopholes; power isn't as cut and dry as the elders used to believe."_

The demon nodded his head.

"Fine, it's worth trying, but just."

For a second time Sesshomaru threw the cell onto the bed and strode over to the pulsing orb beside the miko; he bent down grabbed her wrist and placed the weapon into her hand and used his hand to keep her from dropping it. With her hand in direct contact with the wood, his over hers he raised the stick up as high as he could with her much shorter arms and with his muscle behind Kagome's indirect strike brought it down. The sound of glass shattering filled his ears, the small room lit up with blinding tendrils of white and pale blue light; the raw power whipped around releasing the momentum it had built up when entrapped within the seal.

The demon hissed and jumped back, pressing himself against the wall as the raw power whipped, swirled, and lashed out chaotically; seconds passed by and the power finally found its host. The tendrils wrapped around her limp form almost tenderly and lifted her several feet from the ground; there was a subtle hum, the sound of blood as it flowed through veins and as the power swirled more it gave off a pulse like a heartbeat. The demon questioned as to why it was doing this until he saw her face; she was _resisting_ the power. She made herself so disconnected from it that it had to literally get back into synch with her body; it had to follow the flow of her blood and the beat of her heart.

"Higurashi…"

Sesshomaru's voice was calm, but cruel as he stared menacingly upon her.

"… accept what you have and live. Take back what is yours."

His words made her heart pound and her blood flow increase; while it was a fast pace now her power had something to match up with whereas before the miko was purposely changing how her heart beat to avoid the power from coming back to her. Her power had no qualms about speeding its pace, it followed the rhythm and soon the miko's body called out in preparation; tendrils and white ribbons contorted and flattened until it became a thin layer around the Higurashi. Slowly and cautiously it grew smaller until it coated her like a second skin; still pulsing it waited for when their beats became identical, perfect. One pulse… two pulses… three… when the fourth one came the white light melted into her skin and in a final burst it became one with her again, a part of her in every way possible.

The gashes, bites and burns across her body slowly healed; muscle tissue stitched back together like a seamstress stitching a formal gown: beautifully, flawlessly; skin was regenerated layer by layer with only the faintest of marks to hint any damage. The paleness in Kagome's skin did not disappear, but the fear and the sickening vulnerability she went through was gone, her security was back and for the first time since that night she could sleep without fear. Her body was carefully placed back onto the floor just as carefully as it was picked up, the faintest blue rippled across her skin like steam from a hot bath. The demon tore away from the wall and cautiously approached the sleeping miko; he kneeled by her side and ran his hand several inches above her skin testing the purification's effectiveness.

"Were you that ashamed of yourself that you would reject what has always been yours?"

She didn't answer; didn't need to. The reply was unnecessary, but he felt that it had to at least be heard. He placed her in her bed after the faint blue finally faded away.

She slept for the next three days.

* * *

"Do you feel like telling me what happened now?"

Aki gripped the coffee cup tightly and glared hard at the Takahashi; the phoenix child hated this, hated looking at those arrogant gold eyes, hated the way the demon carried himself as if he was of greater importance, but what he hated most of all was how much the youkai respected Kagome's wishes.

"No, Higurashi will tell you when she feels like it; it is not my story to tell."

Patience was the hanyou's strong point, but his skill was being put to the ultimate test; breathing helped, long, deep breaths that cooled the fire building, burning so much he felt suffocated by it.

"She's still asleep; she can't say _anything_."

It didn't help that she was so sick and the one person standing between him and his precious friend was his most hated enemy. The dog demon finally looked up from the morning paper, his eyes vibrantly sticking out from his low perched glasses.

"Then that probably means she doesn't _want_ to say anything."

Aki rose from his seat in a fit of rage, but had enough control not to tear the place apart; he vented some of his frustration by sending a warning growl.

"Then at least let me see her. I can heal her if she's hurt or sick!"

Sesshomaru rose to his feet as well and took a step in front of the hallway, blocking the half-demon's view of the miko's room.

"I don't think you can provide help for her anymore."

The half-phoenix snarled.

"And why not?"

He said, his voice deepening, his consciousness was slowly beginning to fade back to its primal nature; here stood his rival and his love all under one roof. The demon was as stoic as he was before, allowing little emotion into his words.

"Because she no long trusts you."

That stopped Aki cold.

"How do you—"

"Know? My ears catch everything and the walls are thin."

There was silence for a moment as the demon allowed the words to take their full effect; Sesshomaru turned and took a few steps down the hall.

"So that's it then?! You're going to be her savior, her knight in shining armor?! You! The one who abandoned her and made her cry until there was nothing left except dry sobs! You will comfort her?!"

The demon turned slowly, there was a hint of anger barely touching the expression on his face, but he didn't need anymore than that subtlety to get his point across to Aki.

"Know this half-breed: I may have done those things to her, but the name she calls out at night with hurt and anguish is not mine, it's _yours_."

* * *

Kagome moaned and opened her eyes, they felt heavy and gummy and her vision was a watery blur at best. Her body was sore from being in the same position and shot pain through her nerves as she tried to move. As she turned there was an itch growing on the inside of her right forearm; fingers felt around and found surgical tape holding a thin needle in place at the crease of her elbow. When she opened her eyes again she was finally able to notice how dark it was, but her eyes adjusted enough so that they could follow the tube all the way up to the fuzzy transfusion bag with half of its blood gone.

"You were severely anemic; if I had just let your body build your cells back up on its own you would have been asleep for several weeks."

Licking dry lips she took a deep breath, her voice was quiet and tired.

"How long was I out?"

Sesshomaru rose to his feet and checked the digital clock by her bed stand.

"Few hours shy of four days."

She was silent; he didn't have to hear her voice or look at her to know how disappointed in herself she was.

"The guys?"

She asked, her voice straining to speak above a whisper.

"They have been coming and going intermittently; that half-breed phoenix has made himself quite comfortable in my kitchen."

Her breath hitched in her throat.

"No one's here right? No one's seen me?"

Her heart pounded so hard and adrenaline made her body itch to move.

"The only one who's been in this room is me."

Kagome smiled tiredly, noticing the way he said it was as if he had been through a few altercations.

"I bet they tried their damnedest to get in anyway."

He looked away to the curtain covered window; the white light of the moon making it glow.

"I had forgotten the extent of a fox's trickery and a phoenix's stubbornness. Dogs and wolves at least understand the concept of crossing another's territory and weak humans are very good when it comes to running away."

The miko let out a laugh, it was a far cry of what it used to be, but at least it was a laugh; in two sentences he was able to catch her up on everything that happened concerning her. She knew Aki and Shippo would cause trouble, it was in their nature—good intentioned as it was—to do things their way; it was surprising to hear that Inu-Yasha respected his brother's home, not to mention Koga's sudden calm towards Sesshomaru, a rival demon and very high-class one at that, and Miroku… well at least he _tried_.

"What of Mr. K? Did he pay a 'visit'?"

"Did I not tell you that weak humans know when to turn high tail and run?"

'Weak' and 'Mr. K' never mixed well in a sentence together unless it went: _Mr. K has just gunned down several weak Tokyo structures and its citizens. _Or something along that line.

"Well Mr. K is… dear God he's _Mr. K_!"

His mouth twitched slightly into a smile; at least her voice was coming back.

"That stupid Yankee was the easiest to get rid of; once I laid out all of the Gun Law violations he was facing he abruptly put away his semi-automatic and left. The very next day there were construction workers knocking on my door and fixing the hole in the wall he'd made."

He looked back for a moment a grabbed something off the table.

"And he left me a fruit basket."

The priestess snorted and covered her mouth with the blankets.

"Seriously?"

The demon threw a round object at her and it landed beside her shoulder; it was the size and weight of a baseball, but didn't quite have the right shape; forcing her hand out from the sheets she picked up the object and brought it close enough to her face so she could distinguish it.

"A peach?"

He nodded, growing silent again, but his silence brought something else to mind.

"Are you trying to make up for all the days we missed, 'cuz this is the most you've ever talked to me _ever_."

The demon scoffed.

"I hope you realize that your last statement had a serious grammatical error in it."

Kagome suddenly burst out laughing and didn't stop for several long seconds; by the time it passed her laughter was back to the way it used to be.

"You're talking more than I am!"

He narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Don't get used to it."

She quieted down to a fit of silent giggles hidden by her blankets.

"It'll be a rare treat in my mind."

There was another moment of silence again until Kagome began to sit up and pushed the sheets out of her way; but before her feet could touch the floor, he was there pushing her back down.

"Too early."

Her eyebrow popped up and her lips pursed slightly.

"Oh so we're back to simple sentence 'caveman' talk now? Okay big boy, me go now, must train, you stay, make good book."

She said it slowly and made a move to get out of bed when the hand pushed against her chest and with a small shove she fell back with a light thud.

"Me don't think so."

He said too arrogantly for her liking and she growled.

"Back off Sesshomaru, I've got to get to training."

He drew closer to her and instinctively she drew back, until her head bumped against the wall. He was on the bed and still coming closer, a subtle haughtiness radiated off him so entwined with his aura it was a part of him. Being the lady's man that he was, it didn't come as much of a surprise when his knee slowly drew in between her legs, forcing them to part; surprise aside, it still made her take a sharp intake of breath. His face was inches away from hers using that hypnotizing gaze of his, it wasn't new, but it still got her every time.

"Now why would a singer need to train? Whatever happened to your rehearsals, practice? Do I detect the obvious hint of a miko on a vendetta?"

She shivered at his voice; the bastard knew it too.

"None of your business."

He snickered.

"Is it the same business that got you in this mess four days ago? If it is—since I saved your ungrateful ass—then it is my business, but I'll make you a deal: show me that you're strong enough right now to train by getting past me and I'll let you go."

They stayed like that for a long time, staring at one another in a competition for control and dominance; Kagome saw through her peripheral vision that every move she was going to make he was ready to block. With the needle still in her right arm she had no choice but to go to the right lest she risk ripping it out and causing more damage; her spiritual power could heal her, but there was always a price for it; she wasn't like Kikyo who could mend broken bones a dozen at a time and then return to her usual training like nothing happened. Clenching her hands into fists as tightly as she could the miko pouted, folded her arms and turned on her side; breaking the eye contact.

"I'm not going to forget this."

She said bitterly as her agitation grew; it didn't help that he smirked and pat her on the head like an adult would do to a spoiled child in the middle of a tantrum. She smacked the hand, but he didn't move it so she hit him harder, no dice.

"Just rest."

She folded her arms and scowled.

"If you stop treating me like a little kid maybe I will."

It wasn't said in the most mature of tones and they both knew it.

"Alright."

He said changing his tone as well; instantly the manner of his touch changed, it was soft, intimate… heated. There was a shift in the way he looked at her, an intent that made her abdomen clench and her body squirm restlessly. His lips touched the exposed skin of her neck, jaw line, cheek until he came to her lips; something built within her as he drew near she tried to stop it, but couldn't help it, her resistance had been greatly diminished. His lips came to hers and she couldn't hold it in anymore; with eyes shut tight and drew in an unsteady breath, parted her lips… and yawned. The demon had to blink a few times to ensure that was what she did wasn't just a trick of the eye, but it wasn't and she was horrified.

"I didn't realize you had become bored with me already."

He knew he wasn't serious, but she didn't and protested as he got up off the bed; another yawn stopped her and she slumped across the bed fuming childishly.

"Just rest."

He said again and walked out her door, closing it quietly behind him; she huffed and gave thought to going after him, but her heavy eyelids were saying otherwise so she went back to sleep sprawled out sideways across the bed.

* * *

Late in the afternoon Sesshomaru sat in his plush chair, fingers moved at a blinding pace as line after line was digitally recorded on his laptop when a slight hum of power caught his attention; the hands stilled and his chair turned in the direction of the aura. It was one he recognized, while faint as it was and he didn't even have to guess where she was before heading out the door to the old dojo; not bothering to check the miko's room, already knowing that it would be empty with the window open. How she managed to crawl out of bed one day after waking up was surprising for him to say the least, but for her to detach everything she was hooked up to, dress herself, walk all the way to the old training center, _and_ start back up on her practice could only be accomplished by the girl's stubbornness… or stupidity. With her the two could be easily exchanged or go hand in hand.

Through the crack in the door he watched her, as frail as she was she still looked beautiful; the priestess garbs of red and white flowed with the motion of her body in hypnotizing swishes and sways. Her bokken moved with precision and grace, perfect, powerful, hard; feet glided across the aged tatami mats in a practiced dance, never once stopping, continuously moving. She bobbed, weaved, spun in an obvious sequence of strikes, blocks and counters facing an unseen opponent; but through all this beauty there were some ugly consequences. Sweat flew off her skin constantly, completely soaking her; breathing so hard he could hear the struggle in her lungs. The sequence she was practicing was several years below her level and she still fell several times, but never stopped her practice always using the falls to fight on the ground.

"Baka."

He muttered quietly, but did nothing else except watch her until she fell for the last time, but she didn't just fall, she collapsed. Her arms shook violently when she tried to push herself up, but finally her body said no to her demands and she slumped back down. Kagome tried again, a series of heavy coughs racked her and she didn't even come up half of what she did before; hitting the mats a second time she waited a few minutes before pushing up again, but couldn't even get her head off the ground. Laying there she fell into a forced sleep as her body took over when her mind could no longer make the right decisions.

Once he knew she was out he rose to address her when a distant sound caught his ears: tires on gravel. Shit. The kids came back for their daily visit; one sniff of the air made his blood pressure shoot through the roof; Aki and Shippo, the Dynamic Duo that were the sources of his increase in migraine medications. In a series of swift jumps he made it to the front door before they did. The half-phoenix didn't bother to hide his displeasure with his heavy steps upon the gravel, hands shoved in his pockets, not to mention the cloud of negativity that hung over him like bad news; the fox was quite the opposite he smiled widely while bobbing on either side of the guitarist like a child.

"How is she today?"

Aki asked when he noted that this was the first time the demon met them at the door. The youkai's gaze shifted for a moment to the roof of the dojo, barely visible through the thickness of the trees, before flicking them back to the two band mates.

"Better, the anemia has been taken care of, but she's still sleeping."

Dear God, not only was he acting like a doctor, but he was beginning to sound like one too; he had to cut this visitation short before he started writing down her health status on clipboard from them to review. Without waiting for a reply he turned and walked inside the mansion, closing the door on the two. He knew that after a few seconds of leaving them there they would have enough courage to invite themselves in and before that happened he made quick work of shutting the girl's window and closing the door, making sure that everything on the outside looked the same to deter suspicion.

"You know where to sit."

He told them at the sound of his door shutting; there was a slight hesitation in their steps before one set made their way to the kitchen table and the other followed after. Aki brought a book while Shippo brought his video games; Sesshomaru picked right back up on his work, but left the office door open in case they tried anything and after three hours of nothing happening the hanyou rose to his feet and the youkai waited.

"Can you give us a date? An estimation of how long it'll be until she wakes up or we can see her?"

He never stopped moving his fingers.

"Difficult to say."

The half-demon knew this was coming so he pulled out his trick card.

"If she's as ill as you are making it out to be then she should be in a hospital with proper equipment and a healthy environment. I'm giving you a choice Takahashi: you either let us see her or I'll call an ambulance and we'll all get to see her taken away to someplace that will actually do her some good."

The demon didn't pause in his motions; for a moment he was quiet and the guitarist assumed he had chosen not to do anything so when he opened his phone he was surprised to see it forcefully snapped shut by a flying projectile… a pen to be more specific.

"Open that phone again and I'll open mine. I've got Tokyo's finest lawyers lined up waiting to take anything I've got. They'll look through your entire life, tearing it apart until they find what demon half you originate from and when they do…"

Deep gold shot up to the furious bronze.

"… you'll be a lab experiment for the rest of your existence; your blood will be used as a weapon and whatever other family you have will be subjected to the same fate. If you are smart you will put away that phone and go back to your corner."

He used every dirty trick in the book available to him and it worked; Aki never rose from his seat again, bidding his time until the perfect opportunity presented itself.

* * *

The sun had long since set when Sesshomaru returned to the training room with a blanket, a bowl of rice and water; she hadn't budget an inch from that awkward position since he left which reinforced his meaning of "dead tired", but even in death there must have been peace for the look on her face was one of deep relaxation and calm. While in her bed, her face did not hold that same look; did she really feel more at home passed out in the middle of a dojo surrounded by dangerous weapons than willing falling asleep in a warm bed?

* * *

Days passed by and bit by bit Kagome pushed herself beyond her limits until it was her limits that were pushed; during those days she hardly left the training room and it wasn't until the third day she was finally strong enough to know that Sesshomaru was watching her. At first she did nothing, she let him watch since this was the most contact they've had since he rescued her; she was surprised that he brought her food, but then again it was the bare-bone-basics of sustenance: rice, water, vegetables. Oh what culinary combination will he think of next? She must have been a real lousy of a taste tester because he only fed her after she had lost consciousness.

She adapted to the demon "leaving her side" of sorts whenever her band came around; the house was too far away for her to see what was going on, but since none of the guys had stormed into the room she had assumed that Sesshomaru was playing decoy for her. She had to hand it to him, he may have been a cold-hearted, manipulating, arrogant, self-centered demon bastard, but he knew when the time was right to be nice and she had to find a way to pay him back.

No, she already knew how, it was just a matter of her finding the perfect timing.

* * *

On the fifth day after Aki, Inu-Yasha, and Koga had left Kagome finally slid open the doors and stepped out of the dojo; instantly the wind tussled her short hair as if in a 'where-the-hell-have-you-been?' kind of greeting, but in the playful nice way. Was it even possible for the wind to do that? Rhetorical question, and she didn't feel like having a philosophical argument with herself at the moment. Sniffing at her underarm the miko gagged and reeled her head away and dropped her arm… gross. She smelled like used gym socks left to ferment in some God-forsaken corner; thank the heavens that the mansion had several showers displaced all around.

Her shower at the far end guest room went uninterrupted and she breathed a sigh of relief, but now came the next step: changing her uniform; it seemed pointless scrubbing her skin raw only to put on her filthy garbs again. The priestess snuck back into her room through the window and changed uniforms, unfortunately for her, the old haori top was smaller, but managed to shift it around so she was decent enough for training. She already knew that Sesshomaru knew she was back so there was no surprise on her face when she opened her door he was staring at her through the office.

"Hey."

She said meekly; he did nothing but stare, that expression hard and infinitely unnerving. So intense was it that she had to look away for a few moments; the demon had to have taken classes on looks because there was no way _that_ expression came naturally.

"Right, cut the bullshit I know. Sesshomaru, I… ah that is… you…um…"

Her words were faltering and voice cracking, _'Damn it! Didn't I rehearse this like a bazillion times in the shower?!' _She bit back the attempt to choke on her words again.

"Will you train with me?"

She didn't realize her eyes were squeezed shut until she peeked one opened to look at him; he was the same as he was when she closed them and that was when words fell like water over Niagara Falls.

"I mean 'cuz you're strong and stuff and it would be, you know, totally sweet if you could ah just practice for a day. I mean with all the crap I put you through you probably want to beat the snot out of me and you know training and sparring are good ways to do that. It'll be whatever you want, I wouldn't even mind going up against that badass sword of yours; we could even like do jiu-jitsu (ground fighting a.k.a. wrestling) or…or…"

She trailed off, running out of ideas and still he had not moved; realizing there was no point she just nodded and turned around.

"A-alright. I'll see you later I guess; I know it was kind of bad timing, you have work and I've been a total freeloader so I'll just go to my side and stay there and…"

The sound of the chair moving made her head whip around with a course of adrenaline shooting through her, but it quickly switched to disappointment when she saw that he had just turned the seat around so that he was facing his computer again.

"Well, good night then."

She mumbled and returned to the dojo, picked up a worn staff and got a feel for it again; tying a strip of cloth over her eyes she began a simple form until something hit her; peeking beneath the open space of her cloth she saw a pair of traditional black shoes, lifting the strip up she saw the white hakamas and haori with splashes of red and sakura blossoms at the ends of the sleeves and around the top of the collar, both were tied in place by a long obi sash of gold with soft waves of indigo blue at the ends and spread out intermittently in the middle. She noted how the outfit seemed to be a little on the plain side, as if missing something; armor perhaps, it was the only thing she could think of since he had everything else, extremely sharp sword included.

"You said anything I wanted."

He commented when he caught her face paling at the sight of the tip of Tokijin and inch away from her nose; her wooden bo staff was no match against a demon sword.

"Way to abuse the rules."

She choked out and gulped loudly, this was the kind of weapon that made her once very formidable staff no more dangerous than a dull tooth pick. Reaching out the demon grasped hold of her weapon and easily ripped it from her hands throwing it behind him to the wall where it hit and bounced, but stayed in that area, out of the way.

"Take your pick then."

She looked around her at the far end walls where racks and hooks filled with weapons resided; walking to one side she scanned and ran her hands over the items before stopping on one. It was a simple naginata with a slight twist: there were two blades instead of one. The long staff that held the two broad blades together was made of a light weight, but durable metal; it would be able to survive hits from Tokijin. Taking the weapon from its place she turned and walked back to the demon, but paused; seeing him at a distance like this turned him from a demon, into a demon warrior. His eyes had suddenly changed in the way they looked at her: an opponent, not a lover; the way he carried himself changed as well: a youkai in the presence of a powerful miko.

With a quick bow and a warrior's salute they began; Sesshomaru refused to show it, refused to admit it, but he had not been in a fight against someone he had slept with in many years, as strange and as blunt as that may sound. Something within him grew, a feral hunger he couldn't explain except to say he knew it existed and was apart of him, like a simple flick of a switch the way he saw her changed. Demon sight enhanced his spiritual vision and what he saw from her had him snarling in protest and exciting him in ways he didn't want. He saw every move she made as a blur of blue flames, rivers of pure power that flowed with the blood in her veins; when she struck, the weapon too became a part of her, coated in that spiritual power.

In less than a heartbeat he became very different… he became dangerous; Kagome had miscalculated his look, he didn't see her as just a woman or an opponent, but a mixture of both: his _prey_. It wasn't normal to switch into this mode so fast; he knew the reason but it didn't help the situation, if anything at all, he wanted to forget why. She was so small, but no easy target; they matched each others moves while taking light attacks, testing the other's reactions, small habits, and possible giveaways to what their next move would be. They were both too experienced to let something as amateur as being predictable become the Achilles ' heel in their perfect armor. The vile monster in Sesshomaru snarled at the slow pace and quickly pressed its needs and desires up front for the writer to see, making his heart beat at an unusual pulse.

'_I can't escape this hell_

_so many times I've tried_

_but I'm still caged inside._

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

_I can't control myself.'_

A stronger attack than he anticipated came from her, he guessed this was her first big move and parried it; sparks flew and he narrowed his eyes before coming right back at her relentlessly. Their blades blurred with motion and clashed loudly when they struck each other, she didn't accommodate for this amount of skill from a demon who spends all of his time sitting in front of a computer screen and the severity of what she was getting into began to set in as one of his strikes forced her to dig her feet into the floor so she wouldn't lose ground. The red of his aura leaked out and clashed with hers; red versus blue and red was slowly gaining the advantage.

'_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?_

_No one will ever change this animal I have become._

_Help me believe it's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame this animal!_

_This animal… this animal…'_

They parted and immediately she ran at a curve, hoping to come at him from the side; he saw it and bent backwards just as the naginata's blade slashed where his torso used to be. He felt the breeze of it as it swished by and something else, something much sweeter. The skin of her forearm brush against the side of his face; it was… _exciting_. He could feel the adrenaline rush and used it to fuel the speed of his hand as he grabbed hers; with little effort he used the leverage of his body and threw her to the ground, but not without tumbling down with her as her foot kicked the side of his knee. She swung the weapon at him, but he became a blur of motion, back flipping out of her range; he could have stayed there on the ground and removed her weapon, but his demon nature would take too much pleasure in that… he couldn't allow it.

'_I can't escape myself._

_So many times I've lied,_

_but there's still rage inside._

_Somebody help me through this nightmare_

_I can't control myself!'_

What was once a subtle need became a very prominent fuel to his fight; he suddenly became very aware of the part in her haori revealing a loosely tied chest, how flexible her body was, the movement of her hips; it became the focus of his attention and even though the hakamas he was wearing were a loose fit they soon grew a little tighter. He wanted her to be under him again, he wanted to take advantage of any weak point she had, the whispers in his ear became harder to ignore, promising a pliant miko pining beneath him begging for more, of tearing away those damned bindings that covered up such sweet skin, but he couldn't do it from here.

He was too far away.

Kagome was surprised when Sesshomaru suddenly turned on the offensive and went after her; she kept him off as his sword moved not to strike her but to disarm her. The blow from above was difficult to parry and her arms shook from the transfer of energy; she pushed harder and managed to break his hold. Leaping high into the air she swung her weapon to hit his side, but he was faster; grabbing the staff he yanked hard bringing her down with it, but she used this to bring her foot forward and drove it hard into his wrist holding the Tokijin. They came close to each other again and she got a deep look into his eyes and saw the intent behind it and something within her rose up sharp and uncontrollable.

She knew she should have been afraid, yet she drew in closer.

'_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?_

_No one will ever change this animal I have become._

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal!'_

They didn't know when it happened, but after they disarmed each other the fighting had changed. Tackles became opportunities to grope, punches became caresses in disguise.

Sesshomaru made a grab for her arm, but caught her sleeve instead and pulled hard; the part in the shirt spread and she stumbled for a second, but recovered just in time to avoid the kick intended for her stomach. Dropping down the miko swung her leg out and drove it at his ankles, it hit the targets but the demon flowed with it and back flipped delivering a round house kick to her side. She rolled with the hit as well recovering slightly slower than he since he wasn't the one with the wind knocked out of him. He didn't give her the chance to get her breath back as he came again; ducking to the right, the claws only tore the shoulder of her haori, but the kick to her legs was one she couldn't avoid. The priestess fell and he came down after her.

'_Somebody help me through this nightmare_

_I can't control myself_

_Somebody wake me from this nightmare_

_I can't escape this hell.'_

He couldn't fight it anymore, couldn't ignore it… no, he could, but he didn't _want_ to anymore.

He pinned her arms above her head and dropped his head down to hers; the kiss was more heated than any other before it, it was rough, desperate, needy. She fought the urge to completely give in and used this distraction to drive her foot into his gut; he flew back, but didn't fully let go so she was dragged up as well. Using the momentum she front flipped and tore her wrists from his grasp and put some distance between them; turning to face him, she crouched on all fours, only allowing her feet and fingertips to touch the ground. His aura flared as he whipped his head around to face her; his face was too calm… it was exhilarating to see. The demon crouched in a similar fashion and they stared, a red slowly seeped around the edges of his eyes.

And he gave in to his demon lust.

'_This animal… this animal…_

_This animal… this animal…'_

They came at each other at the same time, a final strike; Kagome aimed a punch to his neck, but was too slow. He grabbed her hand and spun them both around until her back slammed viciously into the nearest wall; his hands moved with a need he had long thought was suppressed. Her haori was yanked until the full weight of it pooled at her elbows; she gasped and arched her back into him as he shredded her chest binding. His mouth and hands were everywhere, marking everything with small bites and light scratches; the knee between her legs pulled away for a moment as the red sash holding her hakamas up was torn away and the material fell around her ankles; he surged with a sudden need when he noted that she wasn't wearing any underwear beneath them.

He slowed for a sweet moment as if he knew that he would soon have his prize and with a few quick maneuvers his top fell away and he lowered his pants. For the first time his head came up to hers, the faintest of red rimming the edges of his eyes; so alluring she gave no further thought as he came down upon her. His kiss was as demanding as everything else and he never once let her have the upper hand, constantly ensuring that it was she who was moaning. He pulled away and knew immediately that he had her hooked when she tried to come in for more like an addict looking for her next fix and he was the perfect fix.

His mouth kissed a rough trail down the corner of her mouth, under her jaw, the side of her neck to the soft skin at the crook of her neck, just above her collar bone. He wasn't aware of his actions at all, the only thing that registered in his mind was how good it felt; the whispers were so loud now, like a coach instructing him and he followed like a true team player. It knew what had wanted, knew what he desired, all he needed was a little push and he would have his way, casting aside all his self-control for one sweet little indulgence.

She was too far gone to see his lips pull back revealing the sharpened fangs.

'_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?_

_No one will ever change this animal I have become._

_Help me believe it's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame this animal.'_

Her pulse was deafening in his ears, the flow of her blood sang to him more sweetly than any melody, her cries for more excited him more than any thrill ever could, and the scent of her hunger fueled his own. This little human was a living drug for him.

Kagome cried out at the roughness of his actions; she should have been terrified, but she wasn't, she was aroused. She was known for her wild ways, why should this be any different? The singer felt his hands drop down, grab her from behind and impatiently lift her up off the ground; at that point neither of them was in any sort of control. He drove into her with one quick, hard thrust and her back snapped into a beautiful curve; the pain on her face was clearly seen, but… she _liked_ it. His mouth was still at the base of her neck, licking that same area and shivers went through her like electrical currents. It was hot, everything was rising to a fever pitch, the heat of his mouth his hands, where they were joined; it burned so sweetly.

Everything about her was soft and tight; the softness of the skin beneath his mouth, the silken feel of her inner thighs caressing his sides, the constriction of her as he buried himself deep within her heat. He felt her move first as her legs tangled around his waist so she could grind into him; they pulled him in and kept him there, but it wasn't as if he was going to complain. Demon lust was a powerful thing and his was boiling over; through a haze of red he saw her head thrown back, to him it was a sweet offering and he took it. The fangs came out again and this time they took blood; she should have screamed in pain, which she did, but it soon melted into an erotic groan.

'_Help me believe it's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame this animal._

_This animal I have become…'_

"Sesshomaru!"

She cried and the recognition reflected in his eyes; he quickly tore himself away just as the first drops of blood went into his mouth. He didn't want to, but he had to; he stopped all movement until she had some sense as well and looked directly into his eyes. His demon nature snarled in outrage and pressed him further reminding him of how good it felt to give in, but he resisted knowing that his control needed to be restored and to do that, he needed a distraction.

"Tell me to kiss you."

He demanded; her chest heaved up and down in heavy breaths as her eyes roamed the features on his face. The demon was breathing just as heavily as she and a thin film of sweat coated his luscious skin; it took her a moment to realize what he was doing. The miko wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes drooping lustily.

"Kiss me."

She whispered in wanton abandon and he obeyed taking her lips as roughly as he did before, but all of his attention was on kissing her. His tongue delved deep moving inside her in ways he had never taken the time to do before and when he pulled away she licked her swollen lips, slightly dizzy from the action. It wasn't enough.

"Tell me to touch you."

He commanded; some of his voice was lost, but all of the authority was still there.

"Touch me."

Then his hands were everywhere, paying more attention than they did before; focusing on the weight of her breasts in his hands how the tips of her buds hardened in his palms. Her curves felt even more defined beneath his fingers, his claws scratched lightly down the length of her spine and she jumped as if she had been shocked; his mouth came up to hers again. It was the lightest of touches, a plea of permission before she consented and he took her again, calmer, softer, more caring and had her pushing against him for more. His fingertips traced circles around her navel and slowly traveled down before pressing just above her heat; the pressure added to the one buried inside her heat and she didn't have to say anything before he stopped everything until once more she looked at him.

"Tell me to move."

In answer she drew a little out of him and with a shiver drove back in, their eye contact never broke until their lips came together again.

"_Move."_

Kagome purred and his hands went down to her hips and pulled until he was almost all the way out and then pushed back in; she hissed with need and moved with him, only at a faster pace. His eyes spotted the small trickle of blood running down between her breasts and he couldn't resist dropping down and licking his way up, but left the wound alone. The haze was coming back again and he dove down to sink his fangs even deeper when Kagome's movement increased; eyes with the red haze bored into her, roughened hands dug into her hips and drove into her relentlessly at a pace that took her to the point that for several sweetly agonizing moments she could do nothing, until her body moved of its own accord.

He slammed into her hard; bare back pressing into the wall each time. Her core clenched tightly at his intrusion and her wetness did not ease the friction, but drove it on even harder; she felt it with each thrust, one spot that he continually hit that sent little spasms of pleasure sizzling through her. One little flicker became a flame and then a fire; when she hit inferno everything was too slow for her; even at the disadvantaged state that she was in she still attempted to get the upper hand. Her hips ground into his with a speed he almost couldn't match; wild, heated, uncontrolled. Gone was the innocent little miko.

"Will you cum for me?"

He said with the allure that was very male; she threw her head back and screamed as the zenith of her ecstasy was reached. White lights filled her vision for a moment as she was wrapped in the silk heat of primal bliss, but he wasn't finished with her yet. Continuously driving into her, he forcefully brought her back to the border between desire and insanity until his red haze had faded into his sweet release inside her. Sesshomaru waited a long while before carefully extracting himself; allowing the sweat covered bodies press against each other, their chests rising and falling, brushing against one another with each intake of breath; the rarity of the closeness was one Kagome did not take for granted as she rested her forehead against his shoulder still dizzy with little ripples of the after effects.

"Wow."

She whispered breathlessly and looked up at him with an awe struck expression.

"That was… amazing."

The emotional void returned to his face and he slowly pulled himself out of her and she winced in the process.

"That was stupid."

He said with distaste looking down at her and she scoffed.

"Oh so now you want protection? I thought you couldn't—"

The look in his eye cut her short.

"I wasn't talking about that."

She followed his gaze down to the shallow bite mark, the bleeding had stopped and the blood was beginning to dry.

"What's so bad about that? Tons of people give each other love bites yours are just…"

Again her voice died away by the sheer intensity of his look.

"You took my blood before Sesshomaru. What makes this time different?"

He was silent.

"It can not be taken that way."

He finally said with a manner that meant he was ending the conversation, but confused as ever she wouldn't let it die.

"Why?"

Sesshomaru didn't say any more as he raised his pants up the scant few inches they had dropped, retying the obi sash around his hips and threw his shirt over his shoulder. Without his support, her legs more or less collapsed on themselves and she slid down to the floor; she stuck her tongue out at him and took the longest piece of her sash, fixed her haori until it completely covered her and tied the sash around her waist. He hadn't left yet, choosing to pick up his discarded Tokijin and slipped it into a loop from his obi, looking back just in time to see her raise herself up on shaking feet. Her haori was long enough to cover her hips, but only just, leaving a lot of pretty leg exposed, including the white sticky mess coating the inside of her thighs. She looked like she was preparing for another round with him; fine, it was about time he showed her that when she challenges a Takahashi, anything is fair game.

"This training…"

He finally said looking at her rather cruelly.

"… it's because of what happened that night after the concert."

She flinched at the statement, realizing she had given herself away she played it off, but he wouldn't be fooled by such pathetic tricks; _'Keh, she's fortunate she chose singing instead of acting.'_ He scoffed in his mind

"You've changed in a way that is more annoying than anything else. I've given you time to get over now you are going to tell me what happened."

The miko said nothing, but looked away in deep shame; her body felt filthy all over again. The feeling of Naraku's hands and mouth touching her everywhere made her shiver and a nauseous sickness came over her.

"I smelled the rotting stench of the Onigumo clan. It was all over you and it was _disgusting_. I know what they do, I know their tricks, and I know you lost now tell me what they got out of you."

Her body began to shake, revulsion, shame, fear, hopelessness, doubt, rage all boiled into an emotional poison inside her and she couldn't stop it. She was reaching her limit physically and mentally, both her wearing her down, but there was still enough power left within her to leak out into the air as translucent blue flames, it flared dangerously and uncontrollably. The first tears ran down her cheeks.

"He _touched_ me."

She finally whispered in a disconnected voice; the temperature of the room began to drop as her power reacted to its host desolation.

"I couldn't stop him. There…. There were _so many_ pictures. I-I couldn't stop him."

She whispered it again, fully accepting what had become of her and allowed the darkness within her heart to grow; she wasn't strong enough to protect a most precious secret and now her friends her going to suffer the consequences, she wasn't smart enough to see she had been duped and couldn't fight Naraku and his family off. She wasn't strong enough. She wasn't strong enough. She wasn't—

"Clean up and heal that wound yourself. It should go away."

The change in topic and snapped her temporarily out of her train of thought, the flames died away and the bitter cold faded as well; she looked up at him as he drew near. The wound was covered up by the material; he reached a hand out as if to touch it, but something stopped him and retracted it. Gaining her intuition back, something in his wording and his body language didn't sit to well with her and she eyed him suspiciously.

"It _should_? What do you mean by that?"

Turning back to her he drew in close dropping his head down and kissing the side of her face. She was drained in all aspects of the word, yet was continuing on, something vile had seeped into her and he knew it. This human refused to take the proper time to rest her body and mind, as a result the darker things inside her began to take control, he would not allow that and he to act. Hopefully he wasn't too late.

"It's not safe for a human to ask so many questions. Stop asking and you'll get more sleep."

She didn't see the hit to the back of her neck coming and didn't even know it had happened as she was surrounded by darkness.

"Revenge is the poison of the Higurashi, you have been immune to it so far, don't let it claim you too."

* * *

Kagome woke up with the glare of the sun right in her eyes; the small window in her room never failed to angle the brightness right into her corneas. Pushing the covers away she sat up with a look that dared anything more to disturb her; still in her haori and sash tied at her waist she walked out of her stuffy room and down the hall to the kitchen. She searched through the common places where Sesshomaru frequented and even flared out her aura to try and pick up his, but he was nowhere on the property.

"Coward."

She muttered out of bitterness, went to her room and stood in front of the full length mirror; leaning forward she pulled the soft material off her left shoulder and saw a bandage covering the bite mark. The bandage was clean, probably put on a few hours ago; Sesshomaru was going through an awful lot of trouble to heal this wound the old fashioned way and it just screamed that he was hiding something. Tearing away the surgical tape that held the bandage to her skin she exposed the bite which was already beginning to scab. Though she wasn't her sister, small injuries like this she could heal on her own.

Collecting a small amount of her aura in her hand she pressed the light blue flames against the crook of her neck and held it there for several moments; when she removed her hand the wound was still there. Her healing wasn't enough so she upped the dosage so that the light from it hurt her eyes and pressed it there for nearly fifteen minutes, but the only change was that the scab looked about a day older. She tried again, pouring as much as she could contain in her palm and held it there until her hand grew tired. There was hardly a difference. Frustrated, she sloppily placed the bandage back in place and stalked back to her room. She didn't have time to deal with this because today she had some things to do; one she was itching to get down to and the other she dreaded.

Her taxi driver, with a little persuasion and a fatter wallet, drove her into Tokyo's demon slums; it helped the poor man's morale that she was fully decked out in her priestess garbs and the double-bladed naginata that she spared Sesshomaru with, but with a little twist: it was covered in sutras made by her grandmother. The man went no further than seven blocks into the area; by the time he stopped the cab he was shaking like a leaf in the wind and dropped the money Kagome handed him.

"Don't worry sir, you are under the protection of the Higurashi clan, no harm will befall you."

It was one of the corniest lines she used as a priestess, but with the right voice and the air of confidence all Higurashis carried, people believed it and brought a feeling of temporary comfort. But even with the slight calm she brought, the moment she shut the door he slammed on the gas and bolted; the taxi kicked up a gust of wind that tussled her hair and rustled the soft, worn cotton of her sacred uniform. Turning one small foot, she set out down a street with the familiarity that one has with places they've only seen once or twice, but she didn't need a photographic memory or psychic senses to find her destination; the scent of smoke was still faint in the air and the charred out gap in the block indicated the bar she had visited.

No demons had bothered her, she saw them slinking away further into the shadows as she passed, wishing that she would turn a blind eye to them, but still bidding their time when she would be at her weakest to attack. In her own Higurashi arrogance she sent a pulse of her aura, and they retreated further in a cowardly scurry, before continuing down the block. It was truly a luck-of-the-draw that the bartender was still there, trying to clean up and recover what was left of his shady pub, in her weakness she could only see what his human flesh mask covered, now with the fresh scars on his face and burns on his body his cover was burned up and the black fur was now visible.

The ox demon huffed and snorted with the effort of pushing heaving timbers away from the charcoaled pile; the heavy muscle looked distorted with what was left of his human form. Sesshomaru's attack permanently scarred his true face and the burns kept the left side of his body stuck as an ox with the stamping hoof for a leg and foot, his arm still had the shape and five fingers that all humans were granted, but it was overlaid in inhuman flesh and strength with the human side of him struggled to compensate, as a result he walked in a awkward limp and most of work was done with his left which excluded much getting done. She would think he was weak, but trying to lift large objects with one arm and leg is almost impossible.

Absorbed in his work, he didn't notice her until the wind blew her scent in his direction; all motion of his body changed and he whipped his body around, the huge support beam fell with a thundering crash that flung a cloud of gray ash into the air. He would recognize her from anywhere, different clothes, different look, it didn't matter her smell was still the same and with her scent came the image of that girl's face forever imprinted in his mind, one if determination and stubbornness. He shuffled gracelessly to face her while her steps were calm and self-assured; she down played her aura to not completely frighten him, she didn't want that yet.

"You!"

He snarled and the oxen eye went from pale white to completely bloodshot in a matter of moments; the miko just stood there, silent and unmoving, he scanned her thoroughly and found a pressure spike he didn't feel from her before, a pulse that was once silent. She was different from six days ago, as if this uniform had changed her; she wasn't naïve, rash, or weak, she was silent, powerful, and cruel… a true Higurashi.

"I'm here to pick up on a discussion that was cut off. I'm sure you recall which one."

Her voice was flat a dared him to say anything on the contrary; he was throat tight silent. She was terrifying, she didn't do anything, yet the look in her eye had his human leg buckling in cowardice. His fear was well grounded; all demons were terrified of the Higurashi, they were merciless, strong, and ruled like tyrants; they developed an order and anything they felt disrupted that order they removed like dirt off stone steps. Her first trip to the bar, she did not carry that almost dark air about her, but now he could see it, it was in her eyes and her steps, her voice and her power. Few demons survived an encounter with a Higurashi.

"I-I ca-ca-can't."

His throat was so tight air barely entered his lungs and he visibly shook; she took a step forward, raised her hand up towards him and with no remorse sent those blue flames out at him in a hot streak. They consumed what was left of his human side, but even when the skin peeled away and his ox form was fully released it took a few more agonizing moments for the flames to die down, all the while he was screaming so horribly, like a true animal experiencing its slow death. When they finally faded the youkai stumbled, but managed to stay standing; at nearly nine feet he towered over her, but even great oaks fear the invasion of insects.

"What about now?"

She asked coolly, her eyes were apathetic and uncaring to his pain; he shook his huge head.

"N-no—"

He barely said the word before the flames licked at his body again, but this time there was no mask to take the brunt of the burn and he screamed louder than before, thrashing desperately trying to bring it to an end. By the time the second round was over he was on his knees, his massive forehead pressing against the ground while his body smoldered giving rise to the foul smell of burned flesh; he stayed where he was, there was no use fighting and his body hurt too much to do anything. The ox couldn't see the naginata, but he felt the cool edge of one of its blades rest on the back of his neck; the demon froze, looking up at her without moving his head.

"What will it be? Tell me what I want or I slaughter you like the beast you are."

For good measure she let loose her power, instead of the transparent flames it took the form of iridescent ribbons and a bright glow that, if dark, would have lit up the whole block; it was so strong, so destructive; there was nothing harmless about it, no innocence to be confused with, it was beautiful, raw, uncontrollable power and it was crimpling. He met her eyes, they were no longer plain brown, but glowed a pale blue; they bored into him, he could feel the tendrils of her power sneaking into the cracks around his heart, ruthlessly rummaging through his soul; it was a sick and disgraceful feeling. There was no point in denying it anymore; she had her hands buried deep within him as they grasped his soul and what was left of his sanity, he could accept his death from her blade, but she wouldn't stop there, once dead she would destroy his soul and that was something more terrifying than any threat Naraku could give him.

So he cracked. Humph, that didn't take long.

* * *

The taxi ride back into the safer side of the city was a more somber drive than she had anticipated; the anxiety and nervousness gnawed at her and she clutched her blade tightly. Tohma Studios got closer and closer too fast for her nerves and it was a struggle to sit still, but at the same time it was hard to move; she had thought about what she was going to do for a while as the city sights passed her by from the safety of the sanitary glass so clean she could see her faint reflection. What she saw was not a look she was used to seeing and focused passed it to the people and the buildings with their own glass allowing her the pleasure of viewing their colorful interior. When the cab had stopped she paid him with a smile to make up for her stand-offish company.

"Do not fret young miko, whatever problem there may be it always passes in time."

His smile was warmer than hers had been in days, this man who was a complete stranger—save for the half-hour ride—was consoling her and doing what he could to comfort her; he did not know her problem or what she was facing, he didn't know _anything_. Unfortunately she could no longer see the honesty and conviction in his words and she just bowed to him and slipped out of the taxi.

"Thank you."

She said quietly, but it did not have the same sincerity he possessed; the middle-aged driver knew effort when he saw it and took her gratitude with and respectful bow of his own and a wave as he drove away. The miko huffed and turned around and looked up at the building like she always had, but as she drew in curious stares she quickly moved into the building. It only took her a few weeks working at Tohma Studios to realize how fast—and how exaggerated—rumors traveled; it wouldn't be a full day at work without some technical worker, assistant, or janitor busting in with hot gossip about a wild animal in the lobby or a scantly dressed female dance group practicing on the third floor. Desperate for a change in the schedule, Bad Luck—and most others—would burst from their rooms to get in on the entertainment only to be disappointed that the wild animal was an unlucky pigeon that flew in through an open window and the sluty dancers were average high school girls taking fan-dancing lessons.

She had to move fast to outrun the gossip virus for there must have been several people outside or looking out their windows that saw her. When she stepped inside her stomach did a little flip, _'Of course…' _she muttered bitterly to herself. It's Murphy's Law, the day she decides to show up for work dressed in her traditional garbs with a double-bladed naginata strapped to her back is 'Bring Everybody and Your Grandmother to Work' Day; the place was packed and vibrating with the chatter of the people. Instantly their eyes were on her, slapping a hasty smile she walked briskly to the elevators, bowing every now and then hoping to put them at ease. It didn't help. The weapon on her back just screamed 'fear me' more than her bow said 'harmless' and when she came to the elevators the people quickly darted out of her way. The first one to arrive she stepped into, but no one else dared join her and she was able to have a private ride, free of those stares.

When Kagome reached her floor she caught sight of a familiar face, she didn't know the assistant by name, but he often did work on her floor and was Bad Luck's main source of Tohma Studio's rumors. Like a good gossip he broke into a run that could have torn his pants, but catching sight of her, a recognition she didn't expect from him made him jerk to an unsteady stop. It wasn't Kagome as Bad Luck's lead singer he recognized her, but a description that was given to him by whoever was jabbering on his phone. Terror was the easiest facial expression to read because it was impossible to confuse it with any other emotion, even from the distance that was between them the miko could easily see the white of his eyes, that petrified stance, one that most people would go into, it was a mix of bent knees that either collapse or function to run and arms slightly raised as a means of shielding the head or throwing a fast punch.

The singer calmly walked down the hall and the man twitched, his thoughts racing to decide whether he move or just stay in place, but couldn't think fast enough for she was already beside him. She paused and placed a hand delicately on his shoulder.

"You will tell no one of this."

The conviction in her voice, so sound and unshakable, he couldn't fight his knees as they finally gave up and he slumped against the wall, shaking with eyes that were hopelessly glued to her form and the weapon on her back. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth; the control was so addicting. Her words were law to this man and he would follow them to the letter, she could have told him to kiss her feet and he never would have thought twice before doing so; so this was what it was like to have power over others, she truly had missed out. A thought occurred to her, this assistant was on his way to deliver the hottest rumor to everyone on the floor; _he_ had the gall to gossip about _her_.

This weak little man was going to tell everyone she was here, he was going to blow her out of proportion and turn her into some kind of religious fanatic sent to blow up the building in the name of righteousness. _How dare he!_ She had it in her right mind to show him what happens when he degraded her by spreading such lies; the ribbons leaked out of her again, there was a hiss of displeasure, a primal need for revenge. Eye for an eye. _Life _for a _lie_. Kagome felt a surge of satisfaction as her hand reached back to grasp the naginata.

"_You saw it Otou-san! He hit me!"_

_Eight-year-old Kagome pointed an accusing finger at one of the older boys, now sporting a growing bruise above his temple, while her other hand rubbed her left cheek. Her eyes stung at the tears she refused to let fall in front of her bull-headed cousin; Shiro, even after being struck by a girl, smirked arrogantly finding power in the six inches and three years he had above her. Surrounded by other young family members the boy was congratulated by the dazzled eyes of his peers, it was irresistible, one hit and he suddenly gaining a following of half the Higurashi children. _

"_Let him be Kagome, focus on your training and he will stop."_

_His words were calm and wise as he kneeled down while speaking with her and placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder; the physical contact calmed the first waves of rage, but a peek at the kids over her father's shoulder changed everything. With his back to him Shiro stuck his tongue out at her with a sneer, the other kids laughed and began copying him, adding their own little twists to the insults and she snapped._

"_Stop it!"_

_She screamed, slapped her father's hand away and ran right after her cousin; most of the kids were able to get out of her way, but since Shiro was her target, she didn't let him go. Kicking the back of his knees he fell with a scream and she jumped on top of him, digging her small hands into his scalp, grabbing fistfuls of hair, lifting his head up and slamming it into the dirt. She struck his face into the ground three times before her father managed to pry her away, but even then she struggled in his arms to get at the boy again. She wasn't satisfied, she needed to hit him harder, make scream louder, submit to her and admit his wrong doing; when she couldn't break free using her arms and legs she cried out and bit her father's forearm and held her teeth in._

"_Kagome! Enough of your foolishness!"_

_Snarling like an animal she breathed deeply through her nose, glaring unwaveringly at Shiro who was openly crying as his face was smeared with blood and dirt. The other children had back away considerably, some were cowering or crying, others just stood there, but one thing they all had in common was their fear of her; she knew they wouldn't challenge her and if she ordered to do so, they would follow behind her instead. But her father's words stopped that tangent of thought; blinking a few times Kagome finally realized that she was still biting her father and slowing extracted her teeth. There was a deep impression in his arm, she tasted blood in her mouth and looked up at him horrified._

"_Otou-san, I…I'm so sorry!"_

_The priest sighed and put her down, knowing that her extreme tantrum was over, he didn't look angry, but like he had just confirmed the point he was trying to make._

"_Your temper is not something you will give into Kagome, I forbid it. No matter how much you want to, you do only what is right and do not let such negative emotions control you."_

"_But Otou-san he—"_

"_I know what Shiro did."_

_He cut her off and she remained silent, content that her father had acknowledged her cousin's actions._

"_But that gives you no grounds to go after him."_

"_He hit me first! Eye for an eye!"_

_She cried out angrily and he placed two fingers on her lips to quiet her._

"_Revenge is not the right way Kagome. Let me ask you this: did you stop after you hit him back?"_

_The young girl said nothing after a while until she finally admit it._

"_No."_

_She said stubbornly and he nodded._

"_This is what revenge and power does to you, getting even isn't enough, you need more and that feeling doesn't go away, it grows inside you and it turns you into those bad guys you see on TV with grandpa."_

_He cupped her small cheek with his right hand and rubbed his thumb over her baby-soft skin; she instantly felt a twinge of guilt and regret. Kagome couldn't go against him for she was able to understand that the bad guy he was talking about she became in those few moments, the feeling of giving into that anger._

"_Never forget that revenge is a poison for the heart."_

Kagome froze her hand where it was and looked back at the man; his body was frozen in place yet trembling with pure terror with eyes so wide they looked too big for his head. Her face calmed somewhat, still deeply troubled with what she was about to do. The hand fell to her side and her head dropped a little bit, she couldn't help but feel the crushing weight of what she almost did, of what she wanted to do…

She wanted to kill that man.

"You will tell no one of this."

She said again, but her voice was much softer and held deep regret and shame; the man still sat there frozen, but she knew that she had gotten her message across. Power still hummed around her in beautiful ribbons of white and blue, they dropped their malicious hum, but that did nothing to comfort the man. The tempurature around her body dropped to an eerie cold and frost began to form around her feet. When she turned to him again he could see something around the rims of her eyes: an ice blue tint was slowly dominating over her normal brown eye color; they looked so solemn and hollow that even fearful as he was of her, there was a twinge of sympathy.

Kagome knew something was wrong, the air around her didn't feel right; a suddenly splitting headache had her wincing in pain and rubbing her temple, she barely registered how cold her skin felt. It was shameful that she allowed herself to be taken over by power, desire for control, but what she realized was that when she did, a whole new level of power was at her fingertips and to get back at the Onigumo Clan she was willing to sacrifice herself for a few moments in the name of her family the Higurashi Clan, in the name of Revenge. And this power, it tied with something from long ago that her mind could not remember, a time that even Aki refused to mention, or did he forget too? She didn't not notice the trail of frost she left when she walked or how the cold steel of the door felt strangely warm in her hands as she pushed it open.

* * *

**Okay, this length of time was pathetic, I know, I know; my excuse (this is a good one): my computer of old age and outdated-ness passed away in the previous months and I lost quite a bit, all my old work, pictures, music. Geek Squad now has my old girl on technical life-support, but she suffered a computer version of a stroke. Of what I mentioned above, I only got half (maybe) of it back, all my early stuff was still okay, but my newer work (like this chapter for instance) was completely gone and yes, I broke down and cried a little. Who wouldn't?**

**Alright, excuses and blah, blah, blah out of the way…**

**Song: Three Days Grace "Animal I Have Become"**

**I'm currently working of Chapter 8 (on a different computer) expect blood, violence, and all other action-melodrama.**

**Opinions are always welcome and critical eyes, I thank you kindly for your input, I hope I was able to answer your questions and I thank all of my readers who have been patient with me, hopefully this addition with convince you to put away your torches and pitchforks. **

**-Love's Essence**


	8. Blood

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha or Gravitation, any of their characters and blah, blah, blah, you know the rest.**

**Gravitation**

Chapter 8: Blood

"_I'm not sure what the right thing for her is anymore."_

_The priest sat on the bed, his whole frame was drooping heavily with the strain of this dilemma that not even the comforting embrace of his wife could lift._

"_She is a child, Kagami. Give our daughter a chance to grow and you'll see that was nothing but a phase she must go through."_

_He sighed and placed his hand over the small one on his shoulder; it was of little comfort to him, although he tried to make it seemed like it helped so his wife would be satisfied._

"_No child, in my generation or hers, ever behaved like that."_

_Now it was she who sighed as she began to understand the deeper cause of his distress._

"_Kagome is a unique girl, even your grandfather is recognizing her talents. I don't know why you worry for her, she's such an innocent—"_

"_That's exactly the problem."_

_Kagami gave his spouse an apologetic look for interrupting her, but kept talking._

"_She's so innocent, so pure that her heart could be swayed by anything. She has always been vibrant and carefree and she still is today, but…"_

_He grew quiet, he didn't need to finish for they both knew the train of thought he was heading towards._

"_The Shikon no Tama."_

_He was silent, but nodded in agreement; it was a long time before he spoke again._

"_Something happened between her and the Jewel; no one had seen it react the way it did with her. The restrains she had on her emotions all but disappeared… and her blue aura…"_

_From the way he said it, this was what bothered her most._

"W_hat are you saying, Kagami? That the blue aura and her exposure to the Jewel corrupted her?"_

_The priest shook his head, growing frustrated with the situation._

"_No, it didn't corrupt her, she's still the same Kagome. I think it's influencing her, wearing down on her judgment; when she attacked Shiro, there was nothing that could hold her back. She didn't even listen to me until I yelled."_

_Akiko knew her husband never yelled or raised his voice on his youngest daughter, so it was surprising and finally she felt the full weight of the problem._

"_Do you think the Jewel is influencing her spiritual power which in turn is influencing her?"_

"_It's a possibility, but what I'm worried about is not just what's causing this, but what can be done to save our little girl before something irreversible happens."_

_There was the deciding question: what should be done? What __could__ be done? Of course there were options, but which one was the right one?_

"_Are you going to stop her training or keep it going?"_

_The priest rubbed his hand across tired eyes._

"_If I stop it, she won't get stronger, but she won't know how to stop herself when she loses control again; if I keep training her, she'll learn how to control herself, but…"_

_He trailed off again and she once more said what he didn't want to._

"_She will get stronger. A lesser chance of her losing control, but when she does, the damages would be…"_

"_Catastrophic."_

_He finished and the silence rang in their ears._

"_What are you thinking?"_

_Akiko asked cautiously, hating the quiet between them; he remained still for a while before his shoulders sagged in defeat._

"_I will train her. If she's going to lose herself to whatever is inside her, she deserves a fighting chance."_

_She nodded, content with her husband's decision, after a moment she left the bed, probably to check on Kagome, and Kagami dropped his head in his hands, he hated lying to his partner, she deserved the truth, but the truth would have terrified her, appalled her. He would train Kagome, but it wasn't the kind of training she had ever had before._

_He didn't know why the Tama had chosen Kagome to be its carrier, perhaps it was her pure heart, perhaps it was the vulnerability she had being exposed to the Jewel at such a young age, __he__didn't__know__. When she touched the Jewel with her bare hand it did something to her, gave her a gift of possessing a highly concentrated spiritual power, capable of such destruction, but at the price of her self control. Now there was only one thing left that could get her control back: The Jewel of Four Souls. Such a vicious circle. _

"_No child deserves this."_

_He said quietly, long after Akiko had fallen asleep. It seemed the Jewel had a very cruel mind of its own, centuries of nothingness, in the stead of hundreds of purists keeping its power, the balance between keeping the fighting forces in check. Sitting, waiting, it would have its day to roam outside the walls of the Higurashi House the moment they slipped up and that moment happened with his grandfather took Kagome to see the Jewel. From that moment it chose her; it would be dependant on her and she would be dependant on it. And now he would train her to fulfill a role that was deemed unnecessary for nearly three centuries._

_He would train her to control her abilities, become stronger, it would be her life and there would be nothing else. Her fate was now chosen: she was going to be the Jewel's martyr._

* * *

When she opened the door, she was surprised to see the shocked looks on everyone's faces, the utter stillness; there was the surprise she had seen before after disappearing, but this was something completely different. There was fear. She blinked a few times and frost fell off her lashes; they were scared of her too? Why? She left the naginata at the door, so was it the look on her face?

"Koga, Inu-Yasha, Shippo…"

Aki called out, not taking his eyes away from her, he beckoned them to him and they slowly made their way to the guitarist. He began whispering something that was too quiet for her to hear, their expressions changing from shocked to horrified; she wanted to know what they were saying, but before she could open her mouth they stopped and parted. In a flash they surrounded her, Koga wrapped her legs Inu-Yasha and Shippo got each arm; the kitsune looked up at her apologetically.

"Sorry Kagome."

Like Sesshomaru did the night before, Aki snuck up from behind and hit the base of her neck and was unconscious instantly. She fell into his arms and they all backed away, scared and guilty; the red-head just looked up at them, there was anger in his eyes, but more than that, there was desolation, exhaustion.

"You wanted to know what she was like two years ago. This is it."

Kagome woke up feeling cold, wet and someone poking her side; the miko groaned and touched her head and pulled an ice cube from her hair. Opening her eyes she looked to see Koga smiling nervously, bucket in his hand as she just stared at him, holding up the ice in accusation.

"Really? You pulled the ice water trick on me?"

"It's the only thing that worked."

Miroku said; she looked around noting that Shippo was holding an alarm clock in his hand and Inu-Yasha with a symbol and stick from his drum kit.

"Noted."

She said slowly rising to her feet and shivered a little, hugging herself.

"It's really cold in here don't you think? Did one of you guys blast the ac?"

The only one not surprised by her questions was Aki; they all turned to him, wondering what he would say.

"It's probably the ice water. What are you doing dressed up like this, Kagome?"

He changed the subject mighty fast, but she, reminded of her purpose, dropped the accusation she was about to snap back. He didn't deserve a chewing out on top of her next blow.

"I'm taking a break from Bad Luck."

She could feel the instant heaviness of the statement; the clock fell out of Shippo's hand and her throat grew tight by it; she bowed low to them and they almost recoiled by it as if this action finalized something that was irreversible.

"What the hell kind of nonsense are you spitting out now?"

Kagome drew herself up and looked at Inu-Yasha.

"There are some things I can't ignore anymore, some things I need to take care of. I need to go home."

The half-demon snorted.

"Having problems with my brother again?"

Her gaze never wavered as she shook her head.

"I don't mean home as in Sesshomaru's place. I mean home in Kyoto."

They were all surprised, but Aki was the only one who stiffened.

"You used to live in Kyoto?"

Miroku asked, obviously intrigued; she shrugged a little, she didn't think of it much.

"On and off sometimes. It wasn't my favorite place to be, but I'm sure it has the answers I seek."

She mentally cringed upon remembrance of her great-grandfather Lord Higurashi; he was a bitter old man whose distaste in her seemed to increase overnight. She didn't care as much as she should have about her elder's dislike and figured that with all his focus on her, it would take the pressure off Kikyo. It was bad enough that her elder sister had to put up with regular visits from Aunt Tsubaki; she didn't need another withered old prune making her life miserable. It looked like Shippo was about to say something when his right ear twitched; his head snapped to the door and he ran out. The rest followed him to the window down the hall, by now Kagome's ears picked up the sirens; police cars and an armored vehicle pulled up recklessly into the front of Tohma Studios.

"I guess now's a good time to take my leave."

She said; no doubt more than one employee had informed officials of her.

"Nothing like going out with a bang."

She tried to laugh, but no one seemed to find humor appropriate at the moment.

"Trying to work your way or force your way around them is stupid and dangerous, Kagome."

Aki said almost angrily as he pulled himself away from the window and back to the studio.

"Not to mention unnecessary."

He called and signaled the rest to follow; they did, wondering what he had in mind. He paused at the door, looking down until everyone caught up; they all finally noticed the weapon which had fallen from where she set it.

"I would hit you if we had time, since we don't, I'll save it for later."

He said giving her a hard glare before picking the naginata up and going back inside; the boys quickly filed back in, all glancing at her with confusion and worry. She kept her head down, miserable and sick; it wasn't supposed to turn out this way. When she finally stepped inside Aki was talking rather quickly, Inu-Yasha shrugged out of his jacket and Shippo removed his pants and hat.

"Go change."

Aki said when the clothes were shoved in her arms and pointed out the door, quickly turning back and meticulously dismantling the weapon. She silently slipped out making sure that no one saw her; time was short and she quickly kicked her red hakamas and white haori off. Her hair took the most time with all the pins to remove, but finally the wig was off and she threw the guys' clothes on; taking note of the time she ran back to the studio in bare feet. Once back in the room her garbs were snatched out of her hands and thrown into a bag carrying the pieces of her naginata. Aki thoughtlessly donated his shoes, much too big for her feet, but it was something; when everything was done the band just stood there, all six stared at each other silently. Kagome clutched the bag tightly and bit her lip hard.

"I'm sorry."

She said quietly, it hit them hard, but no one broke their composure; it happened so fast it didn't seem real. She was leaving them, it didn't appear to be permanent, but it sure felt that way.

"Take care of yourself."

Inu-Yasha said while twirling a drumstick to keep his hand busy; she opened her mouth to say something when Miroku cut her off.

"You better get out of here before we stop you."

The guys looked away after that, slightly ashamed, knowing that they probably would; grabbing the bag and holding it tightly to her chest, almost like a small and scared child would, she bowed again.

"Thank you."

Her voice was quiest and so were her feet as she ran out of there as fast as she could; Bad Luck remained motionless until the sound of her steps faded.

"Do you think she'll be okay?"

Shippo asked Aki quietly, already it hurt him knowing that he was going to be indefinitely separated from his surrogate mother; he patted the teen's shoulder and went back to where his guitar rested on its stand.

"She bounced back before."

He said and strummed absently on the strings, but the melody quickly fell away from his fingers and he rubbed his head.

"I need a cigarette."

He said quietly and Koga made a face.

"You used to smoke?"

The hanyou looked at him and sighed.

"It took too much alcohol to get me drunk and I needed something the calm my nerves whenever I was around her family."

The rest slowly made their ways to their own gear.

"That bad huh?"

He was quiet, contemplating whether he should waste his money on a bad habit again; without responding he left the room. A few minutes later he came back and leaned against the wall outside the door and the scent of burning cigarettes filled the air. It answered the question.

* * *

When Kagome returned to the demon's house, all the lights were off but she could see the TV flashing; walking into the living room she saw Sesshomaru waiting for her, leaning against the wall, cigarette in one hand and remote in the other.

"Busy day?"

He asked and un-muted the sound.

"…_no further sightings have been reported inside the building. Officials say it was possible that during the commotion the mysterious priestess may have escaped, but it is just as likely that she is still on the property. One man is claiming to have met the priestess, but refused to give any information and Mr. Tohma has yet to give any sort of statement on the situation—"_

The demon snapped the TV off with a press of a button; his gold eyes glowing in the dark. She dropped the bag into a corner and shrugged it off.

"Wanna go a trip with me?"

There was no excitement in her voice, no anticipation, there was nothing; it set off a little warning bell in his head.

"Why?"

She smiled a little.

"Because I can't pay for the plane ticket."

He knew she was lying, but he wasn't going to do anything about it, if she didn't want to share, he didn't give a damn; looking at the calendar he inhaled deeply from his cigarette and let the smoke linger before letting it out.

"Fine. I've got the time."

She seemed to let her breath out, in relief almost, as if she couldn't do this if he didn't go. She did nothing after that, just picked up her bag and went straight to her room.

"Good night Sesshomaru."

She called and closed the door; he tilted his head and watched her leave. He'd bring up the little tidbit about going over to see the ox demon at the bar and finding him half alive and half extra crispy another time.

"You are one troubled mortal."

He said and lit himself another smoke.

"What stupid thing are you going to get yourself into now?"

* * *

She woke up the next morning and found her bag open at the foot of her bed and the demon standing in the doorway; she looked up at him confused, he shrugged.

"You wanted to take a trip, let's go."

She groaned and crawled out of bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes she glared mildly at him, but grabbed her bag and began stuffing various clothes in until he left. Checking to make sure he was gone she went to her closet and pulled out everything related to her old life back in Kyoto that she could and stuffed it in there as well. Coming out of her room she walked to down the hall where he was waiting, just like that, they left, no words exchanged, hardly a glance, just thoughts and their silence. The drive to the airport was just as eerie; Kagome had ditched her male façade and was back in her regular clothes, but instead of relief, it felt… wrong. She had been living in her disguise for so long, she felt exposed without it.

The usual stir was brought up when people saw Sesshomaru's car, but this time, other than wearing a pair of sunglasses, she did not hide herself. Upon her request, they took a detour before heading to the airport; the red tori gate at the bottom of the stone steps looked the same as it always did and—until today—the amount of people visiting the shrine was minimal (no one liked climbing all the steps to the top). At least the photographers, reporters and screaming fans paid some semblance of respect by not following them up the steps, leaving whatever religious happenings to take place in peace. They reached the top of the steps and their eyes fell upon an elderly hunched figure in the traditional garbs of a shrine priest, sweeping the grounds, his work never done.

"You should take a break one of these days Ojii-san (Grandfather), you're back will never get better at this rate."

The old man stiffened and turned around and the sour look on his face fell away to one of euphoria.

"Kagome! You're back! Oh happy days, I knew the blessings I offered the gods would one day answer my prayers!"

He shuffled over to her as quickly as he could and embraced her tightly; she returned it with a bright smile. They parted and he quickly began rummaging around his person, checking the inside of sleeves and pockets.

"I had a present for you all ready for when you came back: powdered demon eyes, good for keeping away bad spirits."

The color drained from her face a little bit and she laughed nervously, flashing an apologetic smile to her companion who didn't seem to pay any mind to the old priest's morbid offering.

"That won't be necessary Ojii-san, I'm entertaining a guest, he's a good friend of mine."

For the first time the old man noticed Sesshomaru standing behind her; he may not have been in his prime, but there was no mistaking the markings and pointed ears: pureblood demon.

"Ack! Youkai! How dare bewitch my granddaughter!"

He waved the broom around while fumbling with his free hand trying to find something.

"Ojii-san it's alright! He's not—"

"Evil spirit be gone!"

Grabbing what he wanted he threw it at Sesshomaru's head; the demon didn't bother trying to evade it and let it hit him: blessed salts. The sacred sodium hit him and did nothing but get everywhere; the elderly man just stared disappointed and she sighed.

"He's not an evil spirit Ojii-san, now apologize."

The old man grumbled something unintelligible, but it seemed to be the best he was going to give; he whispered several warnings to Kagome who pretended to listen with the utmost scrutiny before shuffling off to continue sweeping. The elder never took his eyes off the demon who didn't care at all and just followed behind her; when they disappeared, the grandfather slumped over, idle hands searching for something to rest on, but in the end, he just sat on the ground and rubbed the dull pain in his back.

"Old bones, useless things."

He grumbled to himself as his eyes fell upon the corner his granddaughter disappeared behind and his eyes grew worried, he did not like the way that demon looked at her, those golden eyes were too interested, too… _heated_.

"Be careful Kagome, we can't lose you again."

The young miko took the demon across the shrine, pointing out the various places of worship and holy items.

"You might like this, Sesshomaru…"

That caught his attention and he followed the direction of her finger to a huge tree with a single band of rope and blessed paper; there was a bare spot on it, like something had gradually worn away its bark.

"This is the birth place of our families' hatred for each other. The Goshinboku (God Tree), where my ancestor sealed your ancestor after they betrayed their love."

He rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess, it was all our fault?"

She shrugged her shoulder, keeping her eyes on the smoothed spot.

"That's what my elders say, but I'm not so sure anymore. If anything my ancestor was smart and as a priestess, she gave up the most important thing she could for him: her body."

She looked up at him.

"That's not something to be taken lightly, and not something to betray lightly. He must have known too."

He paused mid-inhale of his cigarette at her words and glanced down at her, but she didn't meet his gaze and turned back to stare at that same spot. Was she aware of what she just told him? They stood there in silence, listening to the groan of the Goshinboku as it swayed in the wind, feeling the shade it gave under its dense brush, the clarity of the whole moment was striking.

'_Only the mixing of blood without spilling any will end the hatred between the Higurashi and Takahashi. A mix made with love.'_

"Well, we best not waste all our time here."

Kagome said drowning out the little whispers the wind liked to carry; she took his hand and he let her lead him to a small storage house; nothing seemed to be used, yet everything was kept in perfect condition. Her grandfather took pride in such meticulousness; rummaging around a little she found the papers she was looking for and stuffed several in her pocket.

"Alright, got what I needed."

She turned around and walked out; he put out the butt end of his cigarette with his shoe.

"Is that all you came here for?"

He asked and she craned her head back and giggled.

"Of course not baka (idiot), I have to say hi to my mom too."

An elegant eyebrow popped up at the pondering of what Kagome's mother might be like, at her motioning, he followed her to a modest sized two story house, out of sight from anyone who might visit the shrine, there was a small garden in the front, looked well cared for. The door was unlocked when she slid it open and stepped inside, taking off her shoes.

"Welcome home, Souta. You're back awfully early, I'd thought you'd be out with your frie—Kagome?!"

She was a short human, same size as Kagome, short hair like Kagome (but probably for different reasons); it was painfully obvious this was her mother, they looked very much the same, but this human had calmer eyes. She quickly ran to her daughter, wiping the dishwater off her hands on a pink apron, in her rush, they were still a little wet when they hugged her.

"Hey Mom, nice to see you too."

She laughed and embraced her mother; it was soft and warm and felt like home, like everything she missed. They parted and her mother framed her face with both hands.

"My heavens, you've been gone so long! Look at you, you're all grown up!"

Her mother's bright smile faded, just the slightest as she looked deeper. Uh-oh. Mother's intuition was kicking in, gotta get out of the situation fast.

"Don't be silly Mom, I still have a lot of growing up to do."

She said and quickly rustled her way out of her hands; Akiko shook herself out of the slight daze and smiled at her daughter until she noticed the tall man behind her.

"Kagome, who is this? Did you invite a friend over?"

The demon opened his mouth to tell the human quite the contrary when Kagome's hand quickly slapped over his mouth, she was lucky his cigarette wasn't sticking out of it. She was scrambling; he knew it and he didn't like it.

"Th-this is Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru Takahashi. I brought him to the shrine because I thought it might be of some interest to him."

The woman's eyes went wide hearing the name as she gave the demon a very long once-over; her hands trembled slightly, he could smell the fear in her blood. She was not a Higurashi by blood, but their stories must have gotten to her; if he was eight years younger he might of cared, now he just looked upon her like he would with any human: indifferent. Although, he had to smile just a little at the fickleness in the human heart, most women would have thrown themselves at his feet or stripped bare; well, he can't win them all.

"Boo."

He said and took a drag from his cigarette, smirking; Kagome punched him in the gut and gave him a glare, before turning back to her mother, holding her arms out to possibly calm any tantrum she might go into.

"He's fine Mom, trust me, they all are. I've met three Takahashi members and they're not the monsters we've been told. The elders just like to blow smoke."

That didn't seem to be the root of her concern as she took hold of her daughter's arm and pulled her close.

"I'm sure the Takahashi family is nothing like the elders say they are Kagome, but you on the other hand, Sesshomaru Takahashi, I've read about you, seen you on TV. I know what you do to women and I do not approve, kindly keep my daughter separated from such lewd behaviors."

The miko blushed and quickly pulled out of her mother's protective grip.

"Mom! What are you trying to say?! Sesshomaru's not like that!"

A low chuckle came from behind her; she turned to see the demon taking another deep breath with the cancer stick attached.

"Wayward girls should listen to their mothers more often."

Her lowered his head towards hers and dropped his voice so her mother wouldn't hear.

"You of all people should know what I do to women."

He winked and straightened back up with that little thought now occupying the forefront of her mind; the demon turned to her mother.

"Be assured Mrs. Higurashi, that I hold your daughter on a higher standing than those women."

"I don't want you holding my daughter anywhere, Mr. Takahashi."

She said right back and the girl turned around shocked.

"Mom what has gotten into you? Why are you acting like this?"

The woman blinked and seemed to come out of her fit and looked upon her daughter slightly ashamed; turning to the demon, she lost the hostility and said no more of the matter.

"What kind of tea would you like Mr. Takahashi?"

Pressing his two fingers together, he put out the cigarette and dropped the smirk a little.

"Whatever is available would be fine."

She nodded and disappeared into the kitchen and put on a kettle to boil, Kagome went to help, leaving him to watch.

"Not a dull woman in the bunch I bet."

He said quietly and watched, the dark cloud that seemed to hang over the mother dissipated instantly as she struck up a conversation while taking out a scoop of crushed tea leaves and dropped them into a pot, adding the now boiling water, the miko took several heavy, traditional cups to the table and set them down with rice crackers and light pastries.

"Oh, how goes your singing Kagome? Last time you sent me a letter you said you sang in front of six thousand people! Now why didn't you invite your mother to something so important?"

The last question was a joke, but Kagome couldn't take it that way, at the mention of her singing a sharp pang hit her hard, causing her to take a seat before she could help her mother with the tea. Quickly collecting herself she threw on a big smile and waved a nonchalant hand at the mention.

"It wasn't much Mom, I must have exaggerated, besides, I've taken a break from singing."

That made Akiko pause and tilt her head quizzically.

"A break? But Kagome, you love singing, that's what your big move was all about. You shouldn't give up so easily."

The girl gave a half-hearted laugh as her mother sat down at one end of the table, Sesshomaru at the other.

"Who said I was giving up? The biz is hard; I'm just laying low for a while to keep my sanity in check."

It didn't sound like Kagome; during her miko training things were tough, she wasn't bragging in anyway, but probably harder than 'the biz' and Kagome never gave up, never 'took a break'.

"I suppose."

She said, sounding unconvinced, but then again, times change and so do children, perhaps her most rambunctious one finally decided to take things down a notch or two. Sipping her tea lightly, she turned her head and the conversation in another direction.

"So, Mr. Takahashi, what excursions have you taken recently?"

She expected an answer, but she didn't expect her daughter to give it, especially with such sudden and ardent enthusiasm.

"He published another book and it sold the highest record of copies this year; he's working on another, it isn't finished, but he's working constantly. He's probably ruining his eyes staring at that screen all day, bet that's why he wears glasses, ne Mom?"

Right then she knew she had spoken of the demon with too much familiarity, but her mother waved it off, she had to trust her daughter.

"You have quite the fan in my daughter, Mr. Takahashi."

She said chuckling, he smirked.

"Yes, and she hasn't even read a single one of my books."

Akiko didn't know why that little bit of information bothered her, but it did; Kagome threw a cracker at him.

"I said I would get to it, but I was just so busy."

Her mother watched her child with observant eyes, finishing her tea before interrupting.

"May I ask how you two got to know each other?"

Kagome froze, it would've been easier if her mother had asked how they met, how they got to know each other was through an extended exposure of living together for the past months, which couldn't be easily explained.

"He almost ran me over with his car, offered his hospitality for a while and we've been running into each other ever since."

She hoped her mom bought it, sounded believable enough; the small woman looked at her daughter, she didn't want to be suspicious, it was Kagome's business, not hers, but… no. _'Let it be, just let it be.' _She said quietly to herself and ignored the warning signs going off in her head. Mother's intuition never took a holiday.

"Almost ran you over? Sounds quite exciting, but why were you even in such a situation, Kagome?"

She decided to focus her attention there and hoped that all her other worries would be lost.

"Your daughter is quite the thrill junkie; I was probably her source of entertainment at the moment."

Oh, Kagome owed him big for covering her ass like that; he let her know it too by not taking his eyes away from her while he spoke. Her mother seemed to visibly relax, the way he spoke of her sounded like a very 'Kagome' moment, she enjoyed doing foolish and dangerous things for the sake of her enjoyment and damn the consequences. She worried for nothing and she made sure that her thoughts stayed that way.

"Kagome, you shouldn't cause such trouble. You're not living in the shrine or the main house anymore."

The young miko laughed and went along.

"And you shouldn't worry so much."

She smiled and sipped her tea.

"I'm supposed to worry, I'm your mother."

They spoke a while longer until Kagome looked around, finally taking in how empty the house felt.

"Where's Kikyo?"

She stretched her head to look up the staircase as if her older sister would make a sudden appearance.

"She doesn't live here anymore, she moved to the main house to continue her training."

Her eyebrows went up; she and Kikyo had figured out years ago that being a miko was virtually a dead occupation unless they wished to stay in the family. There were no hordes of demons anymore, all those of demon blood were registered and in systems, those that didn't behave, guns and modern technology took care of. Their family had been reduced to simple exorcisms, blessings, traditional weddings, and keepers of shrines for the occasional devout or tourist to visit. Besides protecting the Jewel, spiritual training had become… unnecessary. It was strange… why would Kikyo leave?

"And how's that working out?"

Her mother searched her recent memory, trying to remember the last letter she had received from her eldest.

"Happy but busy. Your great-grandfather has put her in charge of training the younger children."

Kikyo loved working with kids, but the little monsters sucked the energy out of them not matter how well behaved they were. It was almost insulting that her sister was training them, if the head of the family had any belief in her abilities he would have put her in charge of the older kids, teaching more difficult lessons.

"When did she move?"

She asked, a little hurt that the ane-ue (elder sister) didn't say a word about this.

"Not long after you did."

Akiko replied simply, refusing to elaborate; Kagome accepted that and rose to her feet.

"How's my old room?"

She asked and her mother waved a hand, motioning upstairs.

"Untouched since you left."

A little excited she grabbed Sesshomaru's hand and pulled on it.

"Come on, I want you to see my room."

She giggled and he quirked an eyebrow; well he followed after her all over the shrine, might as well for a few more feet. Rising up, he thanked her mother and allowed Kagome to tug him upstairs. The first thing he noticed was the pink, lacy cover over her doorknob; the room was simple, a bed with pink blankets and pillow cases with white teddy bears at the foot of it, a work desk with various items still scattered on it, a few pictures, a dresser made more for practicality than its looks. The closed window had a clear view of the looming Goshinboku; winter was coming so most of the top leaves were dying and waiting to fall.

"Smells like you."

He said and she moved her head around, breathing through her nose.

"Really? I can't tell."

Letting out a sigh of contentment she spun around and fell back on her bed, smothering her face in the softness of her pillow.

"You never really know how much you miss home until you've been somewhere different for a while, ne Sesshomaru?"

He didn't look at her.

"I miss nothing about my home."

She frowned. Nothing? It was his home, how could he miss nothing? She didn't have to ponder long as an additional weight on her bed had her thoughts drifting elsewhere; turning to look up she blushed. He was so close, knee already parting her legs; dipping down he bit the side of her neck lightly, working his way up to her ear.

"Well, there is one thing I miss…"

He said quietly, the heat of his breath sending little shivers throughout her body.

"…sneaking out of there."

Skilled hands drifted across exposed skin until he reached the front of her blouse and slowly undid the buttons.

"Stop it."

She hissed and pushed at him, they weren't the half-hearted attempts she gave when they were at his house, they were real and desperate.

"My mother is downstairs."

The girl continued, but they proved fruitless, he didn't stop; four buttons down and he pushed the material out of his way until his hands brushed against something unfamiliar to his usual excursions. Looking up he saw a gauze bandage taped over the skin above her collarbone; finally seeing that he noticed she touched the covered area, remembering its presence and lucky that nobody else had noticed it, she kept it well hidden with a high collar.

"Do you remember doing that to me? It hasn't healed Sesshomaru. Why is that?"

He didn't answer, fixated upon the bandage, slowly peeling the tape back revealed a scab in the shape of a bite mark, _his_ bite mark. Snarling, he covered it and pulled himself away from her; she sat up and buttoned her blouse, sliding so that her feet touched the floor. Turning her head she watched him with her doe colored eyes, he refused to make contact.

"It was a mistake. It'll heal in time."

The demon finally said and rose from the bed to stare out the window; she sighed and stood up as well, folding her arms. First it was stupid, now it was a mistake; it was a bite mark that was stubborn to heal, what was his deal?

"When we get to Kyoto I'll have my sister heal it; she's much better than I am at this stuff."

He glanced at her.

"Is she also as unaware of your relationship to me as your mother?"

Now it was her turn to avoid his eyes.

"Give my family time Sesshomaru; mind you, our business is in destroying demons, not dating them."

His eyes narrowed.

"Then do you really think time will make any difference?"

Damn it he had a point; she was still for a moment, eyes darting back and forth as if she were seeing different ideas right before her. Suddenly she straightened up and briskly walked out with him behind her as she took the stairs rather quickly.

"I have to go Mom! I'm dating Sesshomaru Takahashi, please don't tell anyone! If reporters come up here asking who I am, lie please! I love you! Bye!"

The door slammed shut and Akiko stood in the kitchen, frozen and wide eyed, the dish in her hands slipped out of her soapy fingers and shattered on the floor.

Kagome didn't break pace; he easily kept up with her, not talking with the faintest smirk touching his lips. Slipping her sunglasses back on, she descended the steps back into the mob of photographers and fans, this time he took her hand and shoved a path for them back to the car. They got in and drove off with Kagome batting at peoples hands trying to force the door open; at the airport the demon didn't drive through to the main area, but out back to the runway. She turned to ask him what was going on until she saw the small commercial plane waiting for them, the cockpit door open with a smiling stewardess waiting at the top of the stairs.

"The last thing I need is two hours of random humans swarming around us like insects."

She blinked wondering how he could have time to arrange a small plane to take them the Kyoto when she had just given him the news of her trip not twenty-four hours ago. Well, that was an easy answer: he's freaking Sesshomaru Takahashi; if tomorrow she said they were going to fly around the world via winged-pigs by the gods they would be at his house by morning. Her mouth gapped open in awe at the absolute luxuriousness of the small jet and for two hours she could not stop playing with all the buttons on her chair; the demon just watched, caught between being amused and annoyed. As they approached the airport she glued her face to the window and took in the sights of her home away from home; fall colors were beginning to fade in anticipation for the coming winter.

"The Takahashi main house is here too isn't, Sesshomaru?"

He stared out his own window and said nothing, she already knew the answer, but she hoped he would take the hint and she could visit it, see the place where he grew up. He got it, but frowned at the idea.

"I do not think we came here for sightseeing."

She sighed inwardly, but said nothing, it was true that she had only one reason for being here, but it didn't hurt to walk down memory lane every once in a while. Kyoto was much like Tokyo, big, crowded, noisy, but the atmosphere was different; one street might look 21st century, the next it's as if she had been thrust into the Feudal Era. All major clan's power houses were here: Ryogan, Higurashi, Takahashi, and even Onigumo; more demons and spiritualists were concentrated here than any other city so the tension between to two sides was quite tangible. The two felt it immediately when they got off the plane; humans on the field looked at him appalled, no doubt contemplating whether she had been caught in some spell or brought against her will. She glared right back at them, took hold of the demon's hand and kissed him on the cheek; some gasped audibly.

"I swear it's like Romeo and Juliet without the tight pants."

The miko muttered and he smirked a little.

"I was not aware that you knew Shakespeare."

She rolled her eyes as they walked to the front to the airport to get a car.

"We had to learn some literature in my English classes, by default we had to go with Shakespeare."

"And what did you think of it?"

She looked up at him confused.

"Think of what?"

He fought not to roll his eyes.

"Romeo and Juliet."

That made her pause, unsure of how to put the right words in.

"Too sad to be written by a happy man. The anger between to two families… how far does hatred run that only death can quell it?"

She would have said more, but it didn't seem right for the moment, but quietly she said to herself: _'I refuse to be a sacrificial star-crossed damsel.'_ They walked to a lone black limo, a man in a plain black suit beside it; he bowed deeply to both of them and opened the door.

"You sure know how to make arrangements."

She said to him as they slid in.

"Traveling is part of my job; it would be rather problematic if I didn't know how."

By this time the driver had opened the window from the driver's seat and looked back at them.

"Where to, Mr. Takahashi?"

He asked politely; the demon fixated his eyes upon her from the corner of his eye.

"Ask her."

The driver turned to her and patiently waited; it was so strange, she almost stumbled over her words.

"The Higurashi main house."

She said trying to sound important; the driver raised both eyebrows at turned to him; the demon merely stared back.

"You heard the lady."

The man caught himself, quickly apologized and closed the window to allow them privacy; a few minutes after the drive started Kagome was startled by the sound of his voice.

"If we are both going to go inside—which I'm assuming we are—how do you expect me to get through the gate alive?"

He knew very well that the main house was heavily warded; any demon without permission would be fried on sight. She just grinned and pulled out what she had taken from her grandfather's storage house; the aged paper was covered in beautiful calligraphy; sliding over to him she pulled at his shirt.

"This needs to come off."

The golden eyes glinted mischievously.

"Shouldn't we at least wait until we get to our room?"

The miko rolled her eyes and pulled it off herself; she said a few words quietly before placing it on his chest, it immediately stuck to his skin, yet her fingers lingered.

"This is a type of glamour. It'll trick the wards and everyone into thinking you're human."

While she was speaking she had been looking at the ward, but now her eyes drifted up and nearly popped out of her sockets. His eyes narrowed.

"Wow, that's trippy."

Her voice had faded in awe; he pulled down an overhead mirror, but his reflection was the same as it had always been.

"It tricks us Sesshomaru, not you, but I almost wish you could see yourself."

A very human looking demon glared at her, he became a completely different person with that midnight black hair and dull human eyes, no markings, and no demon aura; but he still had that same, undeniable demon arrogance. She wished she had a camera. When they came to the extravagant front gate the driver opened the door for them and did a very unprofessional double-take as the demon stepped out.

"Keep looking and you'll quickly find yourself out of a job."

Apologizing again he went back to the car to wait; he stepped up next her as her eyes scanned over the area with a reminiscing gaze. The clutch on her bag tightened, an old pain came back that she couldn't explain, something nobody would tell her except her father.

"Alright, let's go."

She took a deep breath in and walked through the open gate, he followed suit, not pausing as he passed through the ward's barrier even though his feet itched to turn around, but nothing happened and the feeling passed. At her suggestion he tied his hair back with a band she gave him; now that he looked human to everyone it would have been impolite to walk around with his long hair untied. There weren't many family members, mostly servants running around doing basic errands, so busy that they did not notice the head Higurashi's great-granddaughter walk by them with a handsome, yet strange looking man. They passed by endless rooms and houses of tradition and forgotten designs, the entire enclosure seemed to be hopelessly stuck in the Feudal Era. Her presence was finally noticed by a group of young adults, all distant cousins of hers, dressing in the traditional blue and red hakama and white haori of priest and priestesses. The man in front paused as the two passed by them; their laughter ceased, they knew her, she knew them and the tension grew.

"Konnichiwa, Itoko." (Hello, Cousin)

She said, it took him a moment before he forced a reply.

"What the hell are you doing back here? Who's this?"

He jerked his head to the one behind her.

"Never mind him, he's no one to worry about. What's with the attitude Shiro? I haven't even outsmarted you yet and you're already in a bad mood."

He was about to say something when the girl closest to him grabbed his arm, she quickly shook her head, her eyes darting to Kagome and back as a message to him and he seemed to relax his shoulders, but the anger was still there. He shrugged her arm off and again motioned to Sesshomaru behind her.

"I see you're bringing another one into these gates. He's mighty strange; does he have demon blood too?"

Now everyone behind him reacted strongly, they grabbed at him and pulled him into their ranks, whispering sharply, before she could decipher a word, they stopped.

"What do you mean another one?"

She asked taking a step forward; protected by numbers he glanced around and smirked.

"No idea what you're talking about."

Kagome knew that she wasn't going to get anymore information out of him, but regardless she came within inches of him with her most intimidating look and whispered very quietly.

"Your fly's open."

He looked down and touched the front of his hakamas only to realize too late that they were secured by a knot, not a zipper and she flicked his nose while he was looking down.

"I still getcha every time."

She said laughing while she sauntered away; Shiro tried to push past them, but they wouldn't let him, he even caught a glimpse of the smallest smiles on the mystery man as he turned and walked beside her. As they strode on Kagome eventually stopped one of the servants who gasped at the sight of her and bowed deeply, but even with this show of politeness, the middle aged woman gave off an air of malice towards the miko.

"I'm looking for Kikyo Higurashi. Do you know where she is right now?"

Still keeping her head down, she nodded.

"Yes Miss, she is in the southern garden with the young ones."

She thanked the woman and sighed as she shuffled off, impatient to get away from the girl.

"The southern garden is a little ways from here. Care for a run?"

She spoke normally, causally dismissing the maid's ill-contempt with a smile; the girl was painfully aware that she was not welcome, but it was nothing new and nothing to be bitter about.

"Like I have a choice."

He said with a roll of his eyes; she grinned and took off, he effortlessly followed her; as running on the ground became too boring she jumped up, grabbed onto a tree branch and flung herself onto the roofs. She laughed openly as her feet padded lightly on the tiles, the wind whipping her hair in all directions as she jumped from roof to roof, the mischievous glint in her eye as the people below shouted at them. It was causing a bit of a stir, but the garden was in sight and so was her sister.

"Stay out of sight of her."

Kagome warned with a finger pointed at the tallest figure in the garden. She made a large leap and widened the distance between them; the miko landed and continued in a walking pace, not even breaking stride. The woman's back was to her and she broke into a smile.

"Kikyo, you never told me you got a promotion! Congratulations on becoming the family's new gardener!"

The woman paused in mid-sentence as the young children around her gathered, all holding the same herb.

"Here I thought a loose dog was causing all the commotion, but it was only you. How disappointing."

She said with an airy sigh, but when she turned around there was that same smile Kagome knew on her face. She was so beautiful. At twenty-four, Kikyo had finally completed her training as proof she wore the same strand of beads their father had earned at the end of his training. Strange though that they were beads of subjugation.

"Children, I would like you to go and find me an herb that cures headaches."

There was a murmur of acknowledgement and they left in search for it, leaving the two sisters alone; they stared at each other, smiling.

"How've you been?"

Kagome asked, her voice a little tentative; in response Kikyo looked back at the fading silhouettes of the children.

"Fine, and you? How's that singing career coming along?"

There was a mild mocking tone in her voice; ever since she all but abandoned her miko duties and left the family, her older sister had remained a little bitter.

"I'm on vacation."

She said hoping not to go into detail; her ane-ue (elder sister) raised a delicate eyebrow, it eerily reminded her of her demon lover hiding only a scant hundred yards away.

"You're spending your vacation _here_?"

Kikyo knew full well that her little sister hated this place and the family hated her; she just shrugged it off.

"Well, this is more of a pit stop. I came to visit Otou-sama."

A stillness came over the older miko before her body sagged a little.

"Understandable; it's been nearly two years after all."

She said simply, not meeting her eye; Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and inwardly groaned. Great, even Kikyo knew something that she didn't; this obvious secrecy was really starting to piss her off. She opened her mouth to say something, but her sister beat her to it.

"Is someone else here?"

Her eyes were scanning in the area where the demon was hiding; her heart skipped a couple beats. The older miko certainly had gotten much better, she was able to detect Sesshomaru even though he was wearing the seal.

"A servant perhaps?"

Kagome suggested and came closer; she had to change the subject quick.

"Kikyo can you do me a favor?"

That got the priestess to draw her attention away from the demon's hiding place; the younger miko showed her the bandage.

"I'm getting sloppy; I tried to heal this, but it's stubborn. Can you help me out?"

The miko playfully rolled her eyes.

"You never fail to injure yourself."

She carefully peeled the tape back, exposing the wound and everything in her demeanor instantly changed.

"Kagome…"

Her voice was quiet; she could sense the struggle to keep it under control. When she met her eyes, they were smoldering dangerously, a sudden fury wreaking havoc in their depths; Kagome didn't understand, but Kikyo certainly did.

"…how the _hell_ did you get this?"

Uh-oh. She was swearing and she only did the when she was _really_ pissed off; the younger miko tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. Shit. She never thought she'd have to explain herself to her sister, there was no way she was telling her the truth, but she didn't have a back-up story.

"What's the big deal? I just cut myself."

Kikyo's grip on Kagome's shoulder tightened until it became painful.

"This is no cut."

"Ow! Geez Kikyo cut it out! I fell in a tree, how the hell can I tell if I got cut or stabbed or whatever, I just got it. If you don't want to help me out, then forget, I'll live with a scar."

She made a move to leave, but the older miko didn't let go of her shoulder; their eyes met again.

"Is there something you aren't telling me, Kagome?"

She inwardly snorted, _'I could ask the same thing of you too.'_; but she let it go and stopped struggling.

"It's complicated, but I will tell you okay? Now's just not a good time."

A little voice in her head sneered and cried: _'Ha! Sucks having a secret being kept from you doesn't it?'_ Her ane-ue didn't like it, but she needed to trust Kagome; shoving all emotion and distracting thoughts somewhere dark she raised a hand over the wound and her hand began to glow with warm, purple flames. The girl let out the breath she had been holding in; Kikyo's power always felt so soothing. She slowly felt her whole body relax from the touch, but after a few moments her sister's eyes narrowed and the warmth increased; opening her eyes she looked at the older miko. She seemed confused and looking down at the wound there was still the faint outline of the bite mark where there was supposed to be nothing, Kikyo may have just completed her training, but her skills were nothing short of flawless. Something was different about this wound.

"It's complicated."

She said again after the warmth of her sister's power got even warmer, her eyes straining in concentration and confusion. She took her hand away and saw that look, that look of please-don't-ask.

"May I ask who?"

It was obvious it was a bite mark, there was no hiding it; Kagome smiled a little.

"I already told you, it was a tree."

She repeated, but added.

"A very sexy tree."

Looking again at the faint mark those doe eyes glittered with something dangerous.

"Too bad _your_ tree doesn't go all the way to the top branch."

She flicked her forehead the way she used to when they were little and opened her mouth to say something when a tug at her hakamas drew her attention; the children had returned and ended their conversation.

"I'll see you 'round."

Kikyo looked back to try to stop her, but she was already heading back; Kagome rubbed her neck and hoped that the mark wasn't too visible. When she was out of her sister's sight Sesshomaru came out of the tree he had perched himself in and waited to see what she would do next.

"This way."

Was all she said and darted to her left, unlike last time she stayed on the ground and took care to avoid people, he was right at her heels, easily keeping up with her fast pace. They ran across a large open area covered in perfectly cut stones, in the corner of his eye he caught the back wall of the grand hall where guests were welcomed and large family gatherings were held, up a flight of stairs the stones were replaced with perfectly cut grass, there were several well kept red tori gates with fresh rope and sacred paper tied across their tops. Through the tori gate she stopped and so did he, but his eyes had to widen just a little, after all, this was the largest cemetery he had ever seen for one family.

He heard her take a deep breath before taking her first step inside, but they didn't have to go far. Right in the front was a large grave of stone and a raised enclosure made of wood; there were various weapons beside the grave on racks, a bow and bundle of arrows tied with more sacred paper and a low gate made of it as well. Outside of the gate was a flat stone where fresh flowers and incense rested in vases with just enough room for one or two people to kneel upon it. Seals and wards were everywhere, incantations and spells, obviously this was someone that the family did not want to be disturbed in their eternal sleep. Removing her shoes, she stepped onto the flat stone, reached out and opened the two small doors, a picture of a smiling man rested inside, beautiful calligraphy etched into plates of pure gold rested on either side, a name and epitaph for the man.

"_Higurashi, Kagami. A beloved father, loving husband, an unrivaled priest. May his soul thrive with the gods where he belongs."_

"Wouldn't expect any less for the heir of the Higurashi family, for my father."

Her hands absently caressed the polished dark wood that not even time or the elements wore down; the stones were of the finest make, wood from the best trees in the garden, the gold and seals all the best makings of their family. All to honor a leader who fell before his time.

"I-I wanted you to meet him. Believe it or not, I think he would have approved of you."

Even though she couldn't—and he didn't either—entirely believe it, he let her think he did.

"You went quite out of your way for me to see him. He must have been important to you."

Her fingers twitched and she nodded her head.

"If you'll take one more request, Sesshomaru…"

She struggled to find the right words and he waited; his stare not as harsh as it normally was.

"… if I could have a few minutes alone with him."

Looking at the grave to her, he simply turned around and went down the steps; she waited until she was sure he was out of earshot before looking back at the grave and kneeling on the cool. She lit the incense, closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, quietly praying and going through a small ritual she had not done for quite some time. Only when it was over did she open her mouth to speak.

"Otou-sama, i-it's me, Kagome."

She felt a little silly saying that, as if he wouldn't know, but she did it anyway, not sure how to begin; there was silence all around her, an expecting silence.

"Sorry I haven't visited in a while, I've just been so…"

Her voice fell away, unable to come up with a proper excuse; might as well cut to the chase.

"I need your help, Otou-sama."

She fought to keep herself composed.

"I don't know what to do, I need your guidance, but most of all…"

She opened her eyes and looked at his picture, at those warm and wise eyes. She longed for his presence, for his hand on her shoulder, rich voice whispering words of wisdom in her ear.

"I-I need your forgiveness, for being with Sesshomaru, even though you forbade me from having such a relationship and… I need you to forgive me for what I'm going to do."

Her voice fell away, waiting for something, _anything_, but there was nothing, it was all the same. Her longing grew and those fears and anger she had kept under control over time were easily finding a way out.

"Please, tell me it's okay, tell me you understand, that you would do the same thing."

Her voice was louder, she could hear the slight shaking in it and even if she wanted to, she didn't think she could stop herself.

"Or am I just the bad egg in the family? Am I supposed to be the bad one? To be the scapegoat for the family? Is that why everyone hates me so much?"

Kagome practically yelled and bowed her head until it touched the stone and pounded her fist into it, it stung, but she didn't care, she was so sick of it all, so sick of them, the secrecy, the rumors, the arrogance, the prejudice. Still there was nothing, the same cold wind brushed against her back and made her shiver, the silence of the graves still echoed hollowly in her ears. He didn't respond in anyway, surely he must have heard her, he had to… she was his daughter.

"What did I do that was so wrong? What did I do that even you would turn your back on me, Otou-sama?"

Kagome didn't cry, she was too angry to cry; she just stubbornly kneeled there like a child waiting for the reluctant answer from an unwilling adult. Suddenly, the faintest scent touched her nose: burning wood and sugar. Aki's scent. She snapped up and looked for him, but he was nowhere in sight; she flared out her aura, but there was no demon blood anywhere on the Higurashi grounds, except Sesshomaru's, but she could barely feel it. She looked back at her father's grave and that faint smell returned only to leave as quickly as it came; this time she knew it wasn't a trick of the mind.

Aki… the answers she sought lied with Aki.

Instantly the chaos inside her had calmed; all she was left with was a mild shame for allowing herself to become so angry, to doubt her father.

"Thank you, Otou-sama."

She said while rising, she caressed the black frame around his picture.

"I promise I'll visit next Obon."

She didn't attend the last two, it hurt too much, so she stayed in her apartment and lit incense on her balcony. Shutting the doors, she turned and quickly took off down the stairs, he was waiting for her, but she didn't wait for him.

"Time to go!"

She said as she ran past.

* * *

It was early in the afternoon when they checked into the top suite at a rather ritzy hotel; Kagome made sure to stay well hidden under her disguise as she stood by the now demon-looking demon. Once again, his presence brought about the crowds of fans and pictures, but the demon had already handsomely paid the security to keep them outside.

The door had barely closed before she tackled him; caught off guard, he stumbled and—to his surprise—fell. She straddled him and took his lips the moment she saw them; the kisses were quick, needy, desperate.

"What's the occasion?"

He asked rather amused and content with the situation as she quickly undid the buttons on his silk shirt.

"You said to wait until we got to our room and I did."

She dove in again, soft, but fast; she pressed herself against him, felt the heat that came off him, felt his heart beating solidly in his chest, the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips: smooth and solid like polished marble.

"Well, alright then."

He said with a smirk; using one arm, her wrapped her up and flipped over; she gasped when her back hit the wood floor, not out pain, but of excitement. Her shirt was already pushed up, it took a minimal amount of effort to pull it over her head, she impatiently kicked off her pants, the sensation of the cold floor on her bare legs sent shivers through her body; he pressed himself against her, much in the same way she did, but it seemed like it was more for keeping her there rather than letting her feel him. She wasn't going to complain and took the opportunity to wrap her legs around his waist; by now, clothes were more-or-less shoved out of the way rather than taken off. His right hand went down and cupped the juncture of her legs and rubbed in slow, teasing circles. Her breath came out in a hiss as she moved her hips to feel more.

"Do you mind hurrying it up?"

She groaned in short breaths and he raised an eyebrow to this; he had had quick rounds before, but there was ample time… unless they were going to do something else he wasn't aware of and if they were, why not wait? What was going to happen that she _needed_ to have this moment squeezed in?

"Sesshomaru!"

Her impatience brought him back enough to register that he had stopped moving for several seconds; despite his inquiries he was still able to smirk at her.

"Here I thought you were taught to be patient."

She sucked in her breath to let out a loud retort when his lips connected with hers again; he effortlessly removed his pants and roughly ripped the panties right off her hips. Everything rushed south for her, heat, feelings, thoughts; a need she was never used to surged up in her like something wild, beyond instinct or primal desire. The faint bite mark began to tingle; she didn't understand, but somehow she _knew_ there was significance to it. Something about it had not yet reached its full potential.

"And here I thought you were an insatiable playboy."

The words were playful and husky leaving her lips; he chuckled arrogantly against the skin of her torso, wherever he touched left heat in its wake.

"You have no idea."

"Then give me an idea."

She said right back; he looked up at her. She was serious. He swore the look in her eyes was an aphrodisiac all on its own; they were alert, but smoldering with something he didn't normally see in women, captured his attention and pulled him up until their eyes were inches away. He became aware of her arms sliding around his torso, waiting for when they would claw and cling to him for all they were worth. He said nothing in reply to her, his gaze just roamed all over her as if in debate if she could handle it, she thought he was about to refuse when in an instant his lips were on hers; there was no more need for a verbal response. She knew his answer and they both clung to each other.

He moved so wildly, she couldn't keep up; right as she was aware that he was kissing one breast, he was already on the other. She gasped when his hips instinctively ground into hers, impatient for the ultimate thrill; he felt her pulse beneath his skin, fast and heavy. His eyes began to bleed red and he could hear the singing of her blood as it rushed through her body, a sweet melody just for him; his blood sang back and his fangs came out, wishing for a harmony between the two. She felt the tips of his incisors brush against her skin beneath his lips, both were painfully aware that he was traveling to the place that throbbed the most. The heat from the mark surged almost as hotly as the heat between her legs, both waiting for his attention; his teeth found the mark first and her shoulder came off the floor when he touched it. Pressing herself closer to his mouth, she didn't understand why, she just _knew_ that she had to.

"Stop it, little miko."

Sesshomaru clamped his teeth together and seethed from repressing himself, he could deal with it, but what he could not deal with was repressing _her_ needs as well; she had no idea what she was trying to insinuate. Something beyond his demon blood called for him to sink his teeth deep into her; no doubt the same sensation was coming over her as well. It was impossible; he refused to believe that The Call would be for this human, this miko, this mortal enemy to his family; something had to be wrong with him. He ground his teeth together and growled low; she responded by lazily moving her hips.

"Stop what?"

Kagome said with such languid sensuality he barely recognized it to be hers; he felt a calm hand caress the side of his tense face. The taunt muscles eased slowly and he gazed into her eyes, flaring with life and need; he growled again as a rush came over him.

"Stop this! You foolish girl—"

He didn't have time to finish as her hands dragged his head down to hers and her lips into his; a new wave of sensations swelled up inside, burning fiercely and unrelenting, even when they parted. The wood beneath them cracked splintered where his claws continuously dug into them; he was seething, on the brink of losing control. She took in a few shallow breaths.

"If you really wanted to stop, you wouldn't have let me do that."

She barely got the words out of her mouth when he was on her; this time he knew he couldn't stop. This little human was going to drive him crazy. Sharp fangs traced the curve of her ear and he whispered in a deep resonating voice that had her shivering to the very core and back.

"We never should have started this."

He could feel himself fading into a state of mind that would do an irreversible act; she recognized this slow degradation of his mental barriers against his demon instincts. And as dangerous as it was, her body still cried out to let it happen. Her lithe form trembled to the beat of her heart; her core and the mark throbbed uncontrollably for attention, her power surged unchecked all around her, but despite that she smiled and whispered right back with the only sanity she had left.

"Whatever it is that you are afraid of doing Sesshomaru, you don't need to worry because I trust you."

She felt him still momentarily at that statement; she adjusted her hips so that her heat pushed against his bare arousal.

"And you should trust me. As a silver-haired, dog demon once requested of me: let me in."

Kagome spoke in that same inviting, calming tone that he had used the first night he took her. Once again The Call, stronger than his demon blood, surged and he knew it was useless to fight.

"Let me in, Lover."

It was too great, every fiber of his being rang out in response to it; as quickly as the flip of a switch he surged into her core and his fangs bit deeply into the fading mark above her left collarbone, only this time, they were staying in there. She cried out, whether it was from pain or pleasure or both she didn't know; her nails dug deeply into his skin as his hips rocked her into an ecstasy she couldn't name. Blood poured into his mouth and he ardently accepted its sweetness, even the bite of her purification; he took her into him and didn't stop until the wound began to clot. His body moved purely on instinct, but that didn't stop him from adding his own touch, bringing out those little whimpers from her. But even then, The Call did not release its grip and he used every sliver of mental strength he had to silence it, he had to… before he killed Kagome. It would not go down easily, her blood was too sweet, sang to him too loudly, it was deafening until it was all he could think about.

"Shesshomaru!"

Her cry brought him back, he quickly became aware that he had taken more than enough and extracted his fangs from the wound and licked the blood off his lips, savoring the taste. For a moment he just stared at her, but she did not meet his gaze for her head was thrown back; the tight coil that had been building inside her had broken long ago, yet she was still in the throws of pure passion. With his will power and the transaction complete, The Call retreated back to somewhere unknown; still, her blood sang as beautifully as her voice, the taste of it still lingering in his mouth, but an exhaustion he had hardly known overcame him, fighting off The Call was a draining effort.

After it was over and the demon emptied himself inside of her, she didn't realize there was no pain from the fresh bite mark. She felt his tongue sweep all around the wound, closing it up as well as taking in the last of the blood; she didn't want him to remove himself from her and felt a slight pang when he did. They wordlessly curled up against each other; the demon was too exhausted to be surprised that he was quickly drifting to sleep and the miko just held him as he slipped into the world of his dreams. An instant wave of sadness came over her, she held him as much as she dared, but did not cry. It was not the time.

She forced herself to be content that this could be the last night with her demon lover.

* * *

After a few hours of sleep the spell Kagome had sent went off and she woke up in an instant; a literal internal alarm clock that would send a spike of adrenaline whenever she wished to wake her up and keep her up. She half-expected Sesshomaru to wake up as she pulled out of his embrace, but he didn't; she couldn't dwell on pondering why and fought to urge to stay in his arms. She felt an instant cold rush over her as she left his warmth, but pushed such thoughts aside for the moment, she had a job to do.

But her hand still touched the fresh bite as she glided into the unused bedroom to change; she had to wryly smile that the demon spent thousands on this room and the most they saw of it was the floor by the entrance. Her mind switched to autopilot as she went through the ritual of donning her sacred robes and cleansing herself in preparation for battle, something that she had done so often, it hardly required effort. There was a little moment of nostalgia for her old life with her father, everything except the setting was exactly the same, but then again, her father was also absent where he would normally be by her side.

Kagome knew her weapon of choice was not one of her strongest, Kikyo was always the master archer in the family, but the founding weapon of the Higurashi was the bow and arrow and she felt that it was only right that she faced her adversary with such. Grabbing a blanket as she left, she covered the sleeping demon, but did no more; she did not look at his face nor linger by his side and he didn't stir as she walked right by him and left the room. Out in the open air she knew exactly where to go; the demon bartender only told her Kyoto was where she would find Naraku, but that was all she needed. The miko almost didn't need to use her abilities to locate Onigumo Castle, all she had to do was follow the dark clouds. Before she took off, she tilted her head up to the heavens and gave her most apologetic face.

"Please forgive me, Otou-sama."

* * *

Kagura lounged on a silk futon, looking rather bored as she played with her fan; her garnet eyes lingered in and out of focus as she watched Naraku force another girl on her knees. The gag in her mouth muffled her screaming, the wind sorceress paid no mind, all she cared about was what was going to be left to clean up when he was done with her. Had the demoness been younger, she would have felt a little sorry for the girl, she was so pretty it was such a waste she would only last the night. With her clothes in tatters, the half-demon no longer felt the need to wait any longer; he sighed contently as her terrified crying became screams of pain when he drove himself into her forcefully.

Disgusted, the demoness turned away when the torrent of winds she had in constant motion around the castle sudden stilled; instantly on her feet, she pushed the shoji open a crack and peered out. The sickly hanyou retracted his fangs from the girl's back and licked the blood off his lips.

"Is there a problem, Kagura?"

He asked calmly, his voice confident and self-assured, almost not caring what was beyond the stone and wood walls. She didn't have time to reply as a beam of blue flames came straight towards her; something small, but solid dug into the wood and a burst of power flared out, illuminating the entire room in light before flickering away; there was no time to be shocked. Covering her hand in her robes and shielding her eyes from the pure light, Kagura pulled out the arrow and held it out to him.

"I think this is for you."

Clearly frustrated, he pulled himself out of the girl who instantly collapsed on her side and curled up into a little ball, her bound hands prevented her from knowing how much blood was running between her legs. In a way, it was a courtesy to her, better that she didn't know. Pulling his pants back up and storming over to the now gapping hole where his door once was, he glanced down from the top room of the castle to a glowing figure in the middle of his courtyard. Now he knew why Kagura had called him over, Kagome Higurashi stood in the center of his stronghold and he couldn't help but smirk.

"Revenge is a bitch."

He tilted his head a little to the side, drinking the sight of her in.

"A damn fine one too."

His head snapped around to her.

"Come with me, get everyone together."

There was no announcement or word needed to be said, already, Kanna and the white-haired brothers were awake and followed him out to the courtyard where Kagome waited. The miko wasn't surprised when all of Naraku's band had come out with him; she just calmly pulled out another arrow from the quiver resting on her back, notched it and pulled back until she felt the tension in the string, aiming at no one in particular. She waited until they had stopped their march; both sides were a good distance from each other, but the electricity still cracked in the air as their two auras collided in the middle.

"Enemy of the Higurashi, I challenge you for vengeance against the wrongs done to me and demand you surrender all damning evidence you have against me. If you do so now I will leave with no harm done."

She spoke with authority, with an arrogant confidence that was trademark to the Higurashi; the sickly thing, draped in loose and filthy robes laughed, his voice pierced her ears and made her soul feel so unclean, but she pushed it aside, just like everything else.

"Quite an offer, come up with it yourself, did you? Silly priestess, you march to your death."

He waved a hand and instantly Kagura and Kanna were in motion, they had worked together for a very long time, so much so that their attacks became routine because they were so flawless; the miko did not flinch as a cyclone of wind surrounded her, trapped her in the eye of a storm only a few feet wide. The nothing demoness hid herself in the torrents, slowly sucking her power and soul, but Kagome wasn't worried in the least; smiling to herself she parted her lips.

"_Hakudoshi."_

She called out the demon's second name and he froze instantly like a soldier.

"_I command you to remove your siblings from the fight, kill them if they resist, and leave Naraku to me."_

Instantly his strongest shields came up and trapped Kagura, Kanna, and even the unmoving Moruyomaru, along with all of their abilities; instantly the wind dispersed and the glow from the child-like demoness's mirror had dulled. Only the wind sorceress and Hakudoshi look surprised by this move; Naraku wasn't and he chuckled wistfully at his now useless family.

"Waste no time, do you?"

Her grip was still solid on the drawstring.

"Why bother with the appetizers when the main course has already been served to you?"

She released the arrow and it flew straight and true, but the half-demon just leapt up, effortlessly avoiding the range of the arrow's power. He quickly countered with vile, black tentacles, shot out from the bottom of his robes; the tips were sharp as needles. She leapt in the air the same way he did as they skewered the ground she was just standing on, but just as quickly, the retracted themselves and went for her mid-air. The priestess sent out a pulse of her aura and they disintegrated immediately upon touching it. Even the poisonous miasma pouring out from the open wounds dissipated; as her feet hit the ground, he grinned widely.

"I love the way you think."

Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a roll of film.

"This is what you're after, am I right?"

A barrier, similar to the one Hakudoshi had on his siblings, encased the canister; Kagome's expression didn't change, but it did not pass his notice that her eyes were solely focused in it and followed it as it floated up into the dark sky before hovering high above their heads.

"The only way that barrier will come down is if I say so."

His hand disappeared into his robes again, but this time she could see that it was slowly forcing its way in side his chest cavity; once he had pushed his hand all the way up to his forearm, he it moved around like he was searching for something. Slowly the arm came out, with it was a rusty katana; it still had bloodstains on it. He did not even have the courtesy to clean his own blade, he just let new blood wash away the old. He swung the blade around and pointed it towards her and grinned as arrogantly as ever.

"So, Priestess Kagome, how are you going to make me do that?"

* * *

Sesshomaru woke up to the sweet taste of blood in his mouth; his mind was still hazy, but the lack of another presence beside him knocked everything back into place and he bolted up into a sitting position. He noticed the blanket on him and looked around for the one who put it there. He didn't bother calling out her name; he wasn't that pathetic, besides, he already knew she was gone. He didn't sense her in the room, the hotel, or even in the surrounding area; throwing on his coat he made a move to go and get her. The writer could not dwell upon the actions of what had just taken place, there was no time; he wasn't going to leave her alone, too many troublesome things happened when he did. As the demon reached for the door, a very familiar laughter filled his ears; he closed his eyes, but this time, he did not try to fight her memory away.

"_Don't say such silly things, Sesshomaru!"_

_Yuki's smile was infectious and he found himself smiling with her; it wasn't as wide or as open, but it was there, along with the ever present blush working its way up to the rest of his face._

"_It's not silly; it's true."_

_He said it with only a shadow of his formidable persona._

"_Normally, a guy would say: 'I love you', but I'll give you points for originality."_

_This time he frowned a little._

"_In a sense, that is how demons go about saying it."_

"_But didn't…"_

_It was her turn to blush a little; his heart skipped a beat. She always looked so beautiful when she blushed._

"… _ah, didn't we already do that?"_

_She smiled not-so-innocently._

"_Several times?"_

_He shook his head and reached with a slightly shaking hand, placed it over hers; the soft grass they were resting on brushed against their bare skin and the tree above them sent splashes of light dancing across their bodies._

"_This is different."_

_He tried to say the rest, but didn't know how; she squeezed his hand._

"_Then you'll have to explain it to me. Saying: 'I want you to be mine, and I yours' doesn't give me much to go on."_

_He grew bold; knowing this way, there would be no doubt in her mind._

"_Demons mate for life…"_

_He explained while brushing her hair away from her neck._

"… _bind themselves to each other, by the exchange of blood."_

_His lips touched her neck, he heard her gasp a little and felt the pulse against his lips accelerate, felt her body lean into the touch ever-so-slightly; he smiled against her skin._

"_I know we're young, but want you to be my mate and I yours."_

_She was silent for a while, thinking she was saying no, he sheepishly pulled himself away from her when a pair of soft hands pulled him back, right into her chest._

"_Right here…"_

_She said, guiding his lips to her left breast where her heart beat steadily._

"…_take it right here so that no matter what happens, you'll always have my heart."_

Sesshomaru slammed the door shut behind him; out into the busy life of the Kyoto night side he didn't bother looking around for Kagome, he already knew exactly where she was and, leaping into the darkness, he ran after her.

"You are going to be the death of me, little miko."

He felt her aura long before he arrived at the usually hidden Onigumo Castle; he saw the clashing of two auras, the blue one he recognized and an ominous purple he knew, but never wanted to. A miasma had spilled out from the castle and into the surrounding area, driving the people away, but just outside the perimeter of it many people had gathered to watch the show; the location of the castle had always been a mystery so the sudden appearance of it drew a crowd, the fact that there was a real battle taking place inside it drew droves of human and demon alike. At this rate a mass riot, or worse, a full war would break out. He scowled and looked up; the demon didn't know for how long they had been fighting up there, but he knew that at any moment the Higurashi family would storm the place which meant Sesshomaru would be dead and Kagome would be ruined.

Without blinking he leapt into the miasma; towards the castle, he felt it get thicker and deadlier the closer he came, but it would have to be much stronger to affect him. He cleared the castle walls effortlessly and neared the courtyard; he felt her power, it was everywhere, angry and lethal. The place was in ruins of great holes and debris, walls and even a few buildings were reduced to rubble; as the dust cleared from his vision he could see two figures intertwined.

"That's impossible!"

He heard her cry; he could clearly see now in the distance Kagome straddling the disgusting half-demon, she held a short blade to his neck. Both were deeply wounded from the battle, her garbs were nothing but shreds, she had several objects sticking out of her, and looked on the brink of madness, but he looked so much worse.

"It's only to be expected by the whore of the Higurashi."

Naraku spat back, still sneering even in his condition; she slashed his cheek in response. Kagome obviously had the upper hand so Sesshomaru didn't feel the need to step in until noticed that the discarded bits of flesh from the hanyou were twitching and inched closer to the two. It took him a moment and then he realized what was about to happen; in a blur of silver, the demon grabbed the miko and ripped her off Naraku just as the bits of flesh came together. They caught his right foot, but his acid whip easily took care of them and he pulled her away from the congealing mass of flesh.

He took the burning from her purification as it instinctively struck him; as he set her down on the ground he opened his mouth to tell her off when the look in her eye stopped him short. They were of disbelief, not that he was here, but of something else, her hand touched the bite mark above her collarbone. His stomach dropped when what had taken place suddenly came back; the once sweet taste of her blood now held a bitter and permanent sting. So she finally knew what it was and he wished with all his being that he could take it back, that he'd exercised a little more self-control, but he knew that it would've been impossible. A sick laughter pulled their attention away from each other as Naraku rose to his feet, turning to his family as if he were an announcer, finishing what he was saying before the writer had stepped in.

"Behold! Priestess Kagome Higurashi, _mate_ to Demon Sesshomaru Takahashi!"

* * *

"Lord Higurashi! The news! Wh-what they're saying on TV—"

"I already know!"

The head of the Higurashi stamped his cane onto the wood floor; the elite of the Higurashi had gathered for an emergency meeting in the middle of the night; the pull of power they felt undoubtedly was of one of their own, but who would be stupid enough to attack the Onigumo in their stronghold and so randomly?

"What's the status on the head count?"

He bellowed to a priest in glasses looking over several charts.

"No one is missing Milord, the priests, the priestesses, the children; even the servants are all accounted for."

A silence fell over them when a calm, smooth voice cut it.

"Perhaps Milord, it is Kagome."

There was a small series of gasps, immediately followed by quick murmurs; Lord Kaname slammed his cane down again for the quiet to resume and quickly the gossip died.

"Who dares interrupt us?"

The circle could barely see beyond the ring of lit candles around them as the far shoji door pulled open and the lovely Kikyo stepped inside; her face was controlled, but confident. She bowed to her elders and quickly rose up.

"Is it not a coincidence, Milord, that the first time Kagome returns to the main house a small war ensues with the Onigumo?"

The old man growled.

"That girl has no reason to attack the Onigumo! Not anymore since her memory was removed."

There was a small murmur of chatter at the mention; at this Kikyo raised a delicate finger.

"Ah, but the Onigumo's memory was not removed, perhaps _they_ are the ones who provoked the attack."

The whispers grew louder; the more the Higurashi thought about it, the more they realized that Kagome had to be the one fighting at the castle.

"If yonder aura does belong to Kagome, why is she acting this way and what will ye do, Otou-sama?"

Kaede, daughter to Lord Kaname, had a habit of speaking in old Japanese; blinded in one eye, she looked at him with the other, trying to not show too much. Lord Kaname knew that his youngest daughter was close to Kikyo and Kagome when they were living in the main house; even after what happened, Kaede still worried about her young great-niece.

"A while ago I sent Tsubaki to Tokyo to check in and make a report about the girl's current condition, but the whelp fell completely off the map even her mother had no idea where she was living. Truly questionable behavior. Her actions now, I suspect, have something to do with being in such close vicinity with the Jewel and the Onigumo."

The elite all nodded in agreement; Kaede knitted her eyebrows.

"But what will ye do, Otou-sama?"

She asked again, but this time, Lord Kaname's mind seemed to drift elsewhere.

"If Kagome is here, we must take the Jewel to the holding chamber underground."

Those around him quickly agreed and moved to make the arrangements.

"Papa!"

Kaede cried, exasperated and he wheeled around and glared down at her.

"We will do nothing to assist her. The fool decided this battle long before it took place when she killed the previous leader of the Onigumo!"

* * *

"Why am I doing this? Are you honestly asking me that question?"

The sick thing narrowed his eyes as if the answer to his question should have been obvious, but she just stared at him confused. He composed himself and snickered a little this time.

"Well, in once sense I have to thank you, I would shake your hand if I didn't know it'd burn me, but family policy requires that instead I have to kill you because you killed my father."

She and Sesshomaru both blinked in shock and he looked down at her, the heaviness of his gaze was almost tangible; Kagome heaved a sigh and randomly yanked an object out of her back; at that moment she looked so tired, not of fighting with Naraku, but of fighting everything. Now she knew what it felt like when others around her said they had 'the weight of the world on their shoulders'; her body felt so heavy from an emotional exhaustion she had never felt before.

"Now I know I _have_ to remember what happened two years ago."

Her eyes met his and raised an exhausted eyebrow.

"Mate, huh?"

He collected himself and resumed his usual expressionless face.

"Unfortunately."

The demon responded and the corner of her lips turned up in a small smile, but it quickly faded.

"Earlier, Naraku mentioned something about 'The Call'. What the hell is that?"

He didn't meet her gaze.

"The Call is a force that draws one mate to another, but it is… uncommon."

He finally said, knowing that the word was unsatisfying to her curiosity.

"Why?"

"Because it's only supposed to happen between mates who are perfect for each other."

Naraku interrupted now that most of his body had reformed into somewhat of a human shape.

"It was designed firstly for the purposes of reproduction and secondly for romance. So how 'bout it? Knock her up yet, Takahashi?"

They both stiffened at the question, but knew they didn't have to worry about such grievances. Again, Kagome sighed and pulled out an arrow from her battered quiver and notched it; never before had she longed so much for the bliss of her long gone childhood, before there was such thing as regret, irreversible decisions, death, and problems that couldn't be solved with a shake of hands.

"All I wanted to do was sing."

She said knowing somewhere in her heart that she could never really go back to her boys, that life was gone the moment she released the arrow and watched with slowly dying eyes as blood sprayed across the courtyard grounds.

**And the angst keeps on coming! Season's greetings my people, I know I pretty much fell off the map for... a while, but hey, at least I still updated. **

**I know, my bad, my very, very, _very_ bad. I don't know what the status is on my next update, but I can tell you for sure that there will be one.**

**To all my readers, I thank you for staying faithful and I'm sorry to those who are no longer with us.**

**Always yours,**

**-Love's Essence**


	9. Calm Before the Storm

**Disclaimer: as always, Inu-Yasha nor Gravitation belong to me, all characters belong to their respective creators. This series is partly based off Gravitation.**

**Gravitation**

Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm

"You can not defeat him with your power alone."

Sesshomaru noted to her, she tried to hide her annoyance, but didn't succeed and drew another arrow.

"I'm not trying to defeat him, I'm trying to weaken him to the point where I can get the film canister, but I may be fighting for my life anyway, so I'll take your point into consideration."

From the bowels of the half-demon's robes sprung new tentacles, they came with mouths this time, full of teeth; she waited until they were at the perfect range and released the arrow, a splash of blood and flesh rained down only for them to be immediately replaced, she repeated the process again, inching closer each time.

"Now, just to make small talk to take my mind off my possible death, what am I to expect now that we're mates?"

She said casually, but he knew that her curiosity was clawing at her, even in this perilous situation; he wished he had a cigarette, but kept his hands busy by covering her exposed sides from any attacks that got too close.

"Actually, you're mine, but I'm not yours."

She took her eyes away from the on-coming threat to glare at him.

"I beg your pardon?"

He rolled his eyes having to remember that she was fairly misinformed when it came to demon culture.

"The exchange of blood, I took yours and left my mark, but you did not take mine, therefore I do not belong to you. And I have no intention of changing that status."

She snarled a little and was tempted to turn the bow towards him.

"Like hell you aren't! I'm not going to be stuck with you if you're not in the same boat as me!"

She reached back so fast and shot an arrow at Naraku, her motions were a blur; well at least he got _some_ kind of emotion out of her, but he was speaking the truth. As they danced around the multitude of tentacles and other creepy things coming for them he sneered just a little.

"Normally women use more subtle and sensual ways to convince me to do something."

This time she sacrificed an arrow and shot it at him; he dodged it, but caught a little burn on his side from the impact behind him.

"Fuck that."

She said and set the bow down and pulled out two short blades hidden in her sleeves; she charged at the inhuman mass that was Naraku, fighting and slashing her way closer. With one leap she closed the distance between them, knocked his rusty old katana out of his hands, and drove both blades into the left side of his chest where his heart should have been. He hissed in pain, but it slowly melted into an arrogant laugh.

"Looking for something?"

Both strikes should have killed him instantly, but then again, she knew from experience that some demons were tough to kill.

"Silly little priestess, do you think I would be stupid enough to leave my heart in my body?"

Humph, that as hell sure explained a great deal about this soulless monstrosity; his head stretched unnaturally until it was inches away from hers; she held her breath, not out of fear, but of the smell.

"Face it, I've already won. I won't die if my heart still beats."

She said nothing as her eyes narrowed and she leapt off him, creating a fair amount of space; when her feet touched the ground she plugged her ears. The two blades, still stuck in him suddenly glowed blue, rapidly getting brighter until the light was blinding… and then exploded. Tiny bits and shreds of him came down like a foul downpour.

"The heart still needs a body to return to."

She spat and groaned quietly as the pieces twitched and slowly dragged themselves back to one disfigured mass; in frustration she flared out her aura and incinerated the flesh around her, but it didn't matter, he was still whole when he came together again. Royally pissed, she recklessly threw her power out at him and he did the same; neither party seemed to care about the destruction it caused around them.

"Little miko, why do you continue to fight?"

Sesshomaru loomed behind her like a powerful—but not very helpful—sentinel. It was obvious that neither side had the upper hand and came down to who could endure longer; it wasn't a helping factor that he had taken a sizable amount of her blood only hours ago. And she was acting a little crazy. She was silent towards him for a while; he didn't really care for an answer, but he wanted the two of them out of this godforsaken place as soon as possible.

"I told you, I came to get that film canister above our heads…I can snatch it down anytime I like."

He could almost hear the smile on her lips and looked up at the little black cylinder encased in some dark purple barrier and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Then get it."

She shook her head.

"There's something I got to do first."

This didn't sound at all like her, she turned and faced him and he could see around the rims around her brown eyes was an ice blue slowly becoming more dominant. There was a wicked grin on her face; she giggled at the splitting pain of the headache where it would normally knock her unconscious. Leaning in closer, the recognition in her eyes towards him was slowly dying away; he could feel the air around her grow cold like winter; her voice echoed, as if disconnected from her body.

"I'm going to finish what I started and kill the Onigumo."

* * *

Laughter and pain mixed together in the Shikon no Tama's chamber, the room was filled with the chaos of people laughing in hysterics or screaming in pain, falling over themselves and others, the elite of the Higurashi scrambled to get the room under control, but it was fruitless. The Jewel pulsed and the temperature of the room dropped to icy levels; people scurried in and out trying to run away or help out.

"Taking the Jewel underground will not break the connection between them, Milord."

Kikyo said calmly to the clearly frustrated Lord Kaname as they watched from the observing distance of an open shoji door; the young woman feared not for her fellow kin, this would not kill them, just reinforce their reservations about the destructive power Kagome held. While calm and cruel on the outside, inside she was seething; nothing would make her forget two years ago and nothing would make her forget that bite mark, a sense of déjà vu enveloped her. She knew this peace in the Higurashi home wouldn't last, but she never expected that it would only last two years. The old man beside her narrowed his eyes at her.

"You seem awfully confident for just a newly appointed Head Priestess."

There was a small smile.

"We know what happened two years ago Milord, when you decided the lesser of two evils, let's see what happens when you choose the other. Trust me, I know my sister."

The second sentence seemed completely unrelated to the other, but he got it; with that, she left. The priestess wasn't even outside when the order to evacuate the building had spread and already the thundering sound of feet hitting the floors at great speeds reached her ears and grew louder. She knew from the moment she healed that mark that the demon who put it there would be in constant close proximity to her which was proven when Kagome came to visit her, that "presence" her little sister didn't want her to notice, she counted on it to be true now.

When everyone was outside of the building, the Jewel's power fluxed, ebbing and flowing more freely than it had done in centuries; those too cowardly ran to a safe distance while everyone else tried to do what they could to stop the fluctuations from spreading beyond the building. The miko joined her power with the others and made it seem like she was pouring all of her strength with the others to help contain the Jewel's power. Before their very eyes the whole building became encased in ice, the moisture in the air solidified and fell to the ground as snow. Winter came early to the Higurashi house.

"You will end this now, Kagome, before you lose yourself again to your foolish desires."

If her little sister ever found out, she would probably hate her for the rest of her existence, but she had to do something to break the cycle. Perhaps one day Kagome would come to understand that Kikyo saved her, even if it hurt; she knew what the damage would be and she was prepared to atone and be there for her imoto (younger sister). Once the Tama's power had enough influence over Kagome she would manipulate it to destroy the demon blood around her and there would be no escaping it.

She will kill the demon who stole her heart.

* * *

Beautifully lethal white and pale blue ribbons of raw power danced around the miko; her whole body began to glow with a dangerous light, but there was a dark intent: to kill, yet more than that was an overwhelming sadness. It was a familiar pain to Sesshomaru, the ripping and tearing of the soul that only occurs from the death or betrayal of someone close, the pain of loss so strong it was crippling. And it poured from her endlessly.

By now Naraku was sprinting in the opposite direction of her, he knew the power of the Jewel when he felt it and he knew when it was about to be used against him, but he couldn't escape her anymore. She, without hurry, raised her arm and stretched it out towards him; the ribbons caressed the length of her arm as they shot out and struck Naraku. Without a cry of pain or sound of shock he was just gone, completely evaporated in a burst of light; only a little frost where the remnants of her power lingered. Kagome dropped her hand and turned towards Sesshomaru; he did not move to run away, it was cowardly and he knew he wouldn't get far.

"Oh, so you're going to kill me now?"

He raised an eyebrow to her empty eyes; her movements were unnatural as she turned to face him, like a puppet being moved around by a master who had forgotten how to pull the strings. His voice gave pause to her movements only for a moment, but it was enough to show him that she was still in there; he scanned her up and down. She was aglow like a forgotten goddess and had the power to match it, a beautiful face permanently set in sorrow, but eyes as frozen as her heart. Those iridescent ribbons of raw power did not attack him, choosing instead to circle around their host almost as if they knew he was of great importance to her, but they itched to destroy him, it was the nature of the Jewel.

"Wake up little miko, nap time is over and you've got work to do."

Again, her body stilled as Kagome tried to regain control; it lasted longer, but eventually the ice returned with interest as the Jewel fought to keep the little freedom it had suddenly gained. He scoffed and walked up to her, not caring that the ribbons dispersed around him; they didn't touch him as he drew closer to her, but the strength of the purification around her was enough to keep him from reaching out to her.

"Little miko, do not make me think that I have made the biggest mistake of my life twice."

Ignoring the danger he grabbed her arm with his bare hand and yanked her into him; he made no indication that he was in pain as he embraced her, the ice burned and chilled him all at the same time, but he held on, gently holding her like she was something precious. Almost instantly the ice retracted itself back into the depths of her heart, the shock of his arms around her brought her back to full consciousness and the Jewel's influence faded away; the ribbons disappeared and her body became warm again. He could feel her move drowsily, but trembling from the cold, she looked up to him, scared and horrified.

"O-oh my god Sesshomaru! You're-you're burned!"

She pulled away from him and sure enough her power and burned right through his clothing and skin, blood dripped all down his front, but just as quickly as the wounds came, they healed. She looked down at her hands and body before whipping her head around and scanning her surroundings, but her opponent was gone, she couldn't even sense his presence.

"Where's Naraku? What's going on? Why is it so cold?"

Her memory faded to darkness after she blew Naraku to bits except feeling the overwhelming need to just curl into a little ball and sleep; everything was just too much and all she wanted was for it to go away… apparently it did. She got what she wished for.

"Don't worry about such things. Are we done here?"

The demon said with his usual aloofness; neither of them was sure how much of an act he was putting on. Kagome looked around and spotted the little roll of film lying the in center of the wreckage and snatched it up; the remaining family of the twisted clan still stared at her in horror, terrified and trapped in the barrier that Hakudoshi was compelled to make and hold. With her senses gone haywire she could feel the presence of still living people locked up inside the castle, confusion and shock was quickly replaced with rage; her head snapped to them and they visibly flinched.

"I want every person in this castle and on these grounds freed and set this tainted land on fire."

She spoke with an unwavering authority as she released the compulsion from Hakudoshi who instantly dropped the barriers.

"This will not absolve you of your guilt, but it is a start."

They didn't move as her eyes shifted to focus solely on the white-haired demon.

"_Onigumo, Hakudoshi…you will ensure that my will is carried out."_

She spoke the words with as much power as her tired body could muster and walked back to her demon lover. Kagome, without breaking stride or pace picked up an arrow from her discarded quiver, took the demon's hand and cut a long line across his palm. He did not flinch or pull away, only watched as she did as thick, dark blood pooled in his hand. She dipped her fingers in it and held it up.

"If I take this into me will you be mine?"

She asked in a voice that was as demanding as it was curious, but he knew what she wanted. Letting his hand drop, the blood dripped down flesh that was already healed; he would not lie to her.

"No. You will only be my mate if I willingly let you take my blood the same way I took yours."

Heaving a sigh, she wiped off her hand, she didn't expect the whole "mate" thing to be as easy as that, but it was worth a try.

"What is it with the necessity of blood? I'm tired of it, covered in it, and it smells bad."

She groaned sounding very much like her old self, but her demon partner wasn't sure if she was trying to force herself back into that mode; the miko, wounded and her garbs in tatters, leaned forward and rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes, content with listening to his heart beat, not caring that he wasn't returning with any gesture of his own, him allowing her this moment was enough.

"Let's get the fuck out of this shit hole. This whole town makes me sick."

The demon quirked an eyebrow, if she was back to using crude language, she must being feeling better than she was before. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he stepped away from her.

"Don't expect me to carry you."

She smiled a little and straightened up.

"Never expected you to."

Sometimes, to make things better, people had to act like there never anything wrong in the first place.

* * *

Sitting in the large jacuzzi-like tub, Kagome rested her head on her knees as the bubbles from the jets all around her moved the scalding hot water around the tub, but still she felt cold. This was her second bath, but looking down at the water, it was apparent that the first didn't wash away enough; blood, dirt, grime, and dust all swirled around changing the color of the water to something unpleasant. Sesshomaru refused to heal her until she was clean, she could see why he would make such a request; she would have done the same thing. By the time the third bath was drained away she was clean enough to wrap herself in a large fluffy towel and walk to the bedroom.

"You almost look human again."

The demon was waiting for her, their belongings were still by the door, untouched since they first came to the hotel; without any quick, nasty remarks or prompting she climbed up on the bed and laid down on her stomach almost falling to sleep when her body hit the soft mattress, but his touch kept her conscious, there was no way in hell she was going to be absent for this. He lifted the towel covering some of the wounds which were already starting to bleed again.

"After I heal you, you should go to a human hospital. With all this blood you lost you've made yourself severely anemic."

Her groan was muffled by the pillow in her face.

"Less talk, more magic touch."

He managed to make out as he pulled the towel away from her body; the pillow covered her blush, but the sudden grip she had on the sheets as his tongue swept across her skin could not escape his notice. She could feel his arrogance in his touch and blindly threw one of the luxurious pillows where she guessed his haughty, obnoxious, gorgeous face was; mildly satisfied when it hit him.

"You have the maturity level of a child."

He said, moving the pillow out of the way; the miko snorted.

"Your face has the maturity level of a child."

She could sense his eyebrow twitching and giggled on the inside, but everything within her came to a screeching halt mid-laugh when two of his fingers unexpectedly entered her. He moved them slowly and torturously and had her writhing in the sheets as her pulse picked up double-time; even the cold of her unnatural power could not affect the heat of her very core.

"That's much better, perhaps now I can get my work done."

He said, his voice the same as ever and she cursed him with everything she knew, but traitorously gasped as his fingers picked up the pace; even on the brink of unconsciousness her body still felt so needy. He didn't take his fingers out as he turned her over to heal the injuries on her front; she shut her eyes tight, not wanting to see the look on his face knowing he knew what effect he was having on her. He kept his hand busy as his tongue swept over cuts, bruises, and gashes; the damn demon was a torturously good multi-tasker. He kept her mind and body in the steamy haze of a desire still so unfamiliar to her.

When he was finally done the miko had fallen asleep, completely exhausted; he didn't try to wake her to tell her off, it could wait. Now she needed rest. He was grateful that she was asleep so she would never know the ungraceful way he tried to put a shirt on her, he was better at taking clothes off and had never stooped so low as to put them back on for someone else. But at least he managed to get her decent enough to deter him from being encouraged to try anything.

"You are a troublesome little thing… and permanently attached to me."

He inwardly grimaced at the thought and laid down, purposely putting his back to her and, for the second time that night, went to sleep unknowing that in a half-sleep daze, Kagome reached out, latched onto his arm and snuggled against it like it was a pillow; she couldn't help it, some guys are just softies.

* * *

Kagome adjusted the binding on her chest and the padding around her waist, turning herself this way and that in the mirror until she was content that her old disguise looked exactly as it did before, and dousing herself in Aki's spray before heading out of her room. The demon spared a glance her way from his office as she left.

"I thought you were taking a break from your band."

He called in a voice that could care less for her reply.

"Break's over."

She sang back, grabbing her backpack and helmet she used more for concealing her identity than actual safety; before she finished walking down the hall, the doorbell rang. When the singer opened the door, Bad Luck's drummer, sweaty and out of breath, more-or-less tackled her the moment there was enough room for him to get through.

"Oh thank the gods you've come back! The band is falling to pieces and Tohma was beginning to question our contract!"

Kagome blinked in surprise, but hugged him back, grateful that her shirt had hidden the mark still healing; a growl from behind them curbed Inu-Yasha's elation as he, somewhat reluctantly, let her go and stepped back.

"I forgot…"

The hanyou said rather distastefully.

"… that demon's mutts can sometimes be rather territorial."

He shot a golden glare to a pair of the same colored eyes; the demon was leaning casually against a wall with a cigarette smoldering in the corner of his mouth, but there was nothing causal in his presence.

"Too bad you'll never know, half-breed."

In an instant Inu-Yasha began to growl, a rumble resonating deep in his throat, before anything destructive or violent could happen Kagome put her hands on the drummer's shoulders and gave him a good shove.

"Well, now that your peace has been made, let's go Inu-Yasha. See you later, Sesshomaru."

She waved with a flash of her bright smile and continued to shove the silver-haired half-demon until they were down the steps; her demon lover didn't stop them or say anymore, just shut the door as they left.

"If you weren't coming back, you know I would've given you hell for that."

He said in a mock retort and she did her best to smile.

"I'll consider it my one freebie."

He let it go after that as she put the helmet on; since the photos of her and Sesshomaru surfaced in a rather compromising way the paparazzi grew bolder, trying to jump the gate or run through it when it opened and hide in the forest. Either the demon or the miko found them, destroyed their cameras and kicked them out without the intruders ever knowing who they were, but still, she had to start taking more precautions every time she stepped out of the house. She was grateful Inu-Yasha didn't question the increase in numbers, he could have cared less.

"They're following us again."

He commented as they sped away through the gate to the two cars that rolled away after them; the hanyou smirked and cranked up the gas. Kagome looked back for a moment as a little anxiety crept through her, if this kept up, they might eventually follow them to Tohma Studios, but the half-demon didn't let her down, in three blocks flat he had them driving in circles. She let him open to door to their studio where four pairs of eyes waited impatiently for her arrival; only three of them looked relieved. Aki turned away the moment he saw her with a brooding look about him that lasted the whole day.

"Okaa-sama!"

Shippo cried and flung his arms around her grinning widely, he was lucky that the door was shut and no one heard him call their "male" vocalist Mother. She returned the hug with a smile of her own and no sooner had the band begun to fall into their old practice routine when Mr. K dropped a bombshell on them… literally. But this time Kagome caught it in time to throw a barrier around it so only the door was blown to bits and protecting their precious instruments and equipment. He stomped through the dust, guns cocked and loaded with eyes promising death; he spotted Kagome, stuffed one gun into a sling on his back to free one hand and grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt.

"Useless little whelp! How dare you just take off! I had to cancel two gigs and postpone the rest because you decided to take a leave of absence!"

She didn't argue with him as he continued his verbal abuse, she deserved it; Mr. K had little sympathy left over from when he burst into the novelist's home and saw her hanging delicately onto life, he cared not if she was leaving to save her sanity, who needed such a useless thing in the music business? Looking her over after his rant was done, he dropped her to the ground, took up a chair in the corner and sat down in it with his favorite six-shooter pointed at her.

"You've got this one practice to prove to me that you want this band to continue."

He groaned a little when she did; for hours on end she never stopped singing or working even when the others were whining for a break. Now he knew he had work ahead of him, for the week and a half she was gone the band did nothing and was beginning to lose their audience, in order for them to go anywhere, they couldn't afford to take any time off, and now that she proved to him that she was willing to make amends and try to make Bad Luck work, he had double to do to bring them back up. Checking his watch, he lowered the gun and rose up from the chair he had never left and the band gratefully sunk to the floor to rest.

"Higurashi…"

He said distastefully and she looked up at him with a neutral face.

"… you're lucky I like you."

She managed a tired smile.

"Funny way of showing it."

He huffed and stretched, cracking his back in several places.

"Keep your cell phones charged. For the next several weeks expect to leave at a moment's notice. I'm going to take every gig for you available, including the odd hour ones."

He said looking entirely at her.

"You dodged a bullet, girl. Don't expect the same treatment should this happen again."

She nodded, noticing that this wasn't the only second chance she had been given.

"I understand."

He took his leave, stepping over the rubble and past the maintenance crew already rebuilding the damaged area; after some of their strength returned the band departed for home, except for Aki and Kagome who stayed behind.

"Let's go for a walk."

She said it more as an order than as a suggestion and he silently complied, they went to the park with the view of the city and few people, but unlike last time they came to this place, there was no calm or peace as friends, just an uneasy tension. It was in the steps they took and the secure distance between each other, the hands stuffed in pockets and avoidance of gazes.

"Time to pay up Aki, I held up my end of the bargain and came back, now you have to answer my questions."

They stopped at the same railing they did before and leaned against it, taking the view as an excuse so they wouldn't have to look at each other.

"Go ahead."

He said in a voice that promised nothing as his eyes gazed uninterestedly across the sea of city lights.

"What happened two years ago?"

She started, skipping all the little questions and going for the biggest one first.

"Many things happened two years ago, most were pleasant, but some weren't."

She narrowed her eyes at his dodgy answers.

"What is everybody hiding from me?"

"Something that should stay hidden."

This time, she didn't let it go; slamming her fist into the railing he was leaning against, it shuddered violently and his dull bronze eyes flickered up to her.

"Enough with the bullshit answers, Aki!"

Her face drew in close to his, flaring up her power even though she had nearly exhausted it back in Kyoto.

"I can burn you right now if I wanted to!"

His eyes didn't waver or change.

"But you won't."

He said matter-of-factly and she growled.

"And why's that?"

He straightened up, using his height to tower over her.

"Because you're not that kind of person."

The sudden silence that came after was cut by Aki's phone ringing, bringing back Kagome's clarity enough to drop the menacing aura.

"Hello? Oh Ayaka, sorry I was going to call you to tell you I was going to be late, I guess I got a little side tracked."

He feigned a laugh for her and it ticked the miko off, he shouldn't be laughing when he was purposely using a loophole to get out of their deal.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye."

He hung up and caught her curious glare.

"Ayaka hasn't gone back to Kyoto?"

He shook his head.

"She's staying here in an apartment; I was going to meet her there."

Kagome quirked an eyebrow.

"You sure have taken a liking to her… does she know what you are?"

The slight malice in her voice didn't escape him.

"Of course she does and since when did you care who I was seeing?"

The tone in his voice had the miko raising hers.

"I don't know! Maybe if I knew what happened two years ago I wouldn't be like this!"

His anger reached a peak and the necklace beneath his shirt began to glow, the dull bronze eyes and red hair suddenly became rich in beautiful colors that a normal human wouldn't have. They both knew it was only a matter of time before the seal in the necklace would break; she calmed down before he did and watched in silence as his natural features dulled.

"I've got one more deal to propose to you."

He shook his head.

"No. No more deals."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a necklace identical to the one around his neck, it even had the same blood filled seal in its center.

"I picked this up when I went to Kyoto. Yours is going to break sooner or later and reveal your secret. Do me one request and this is yours."

She stretched it out to him, the pendant dangling like a worm on a fish hook; he stared at the necklace for the longest time and she waited patiently, as if knowing he would take the bait. The hanyou said nothing as he snatched the pendant out of her hand seething so much his old necklace began to glow again.

"If you won't tell me what happened two years ago then take me to somebody who will. Take me to see the Dou-Hime."

His eyes suddenly came alive at the mention of his old mentor's name. The Dou-Hime was one of the oldest still-living demons residing in Tokyo, in her youthful years she reigned over the southern lands of Japan; lived to see the suffering of others, lusted for battle and power, and nobody could touch her. Her real name was lost in history on purpose; she much preferred her well earned title: The Eye Princess which struck fear into the masses just by uttering it. She had the power to enter a person's mind and destroy it just by looking into their eyes, blindfolding soldiers with cloth or masks or even closing their eyes did nothing to protect them from her, so long as they had eyes, such obstructions didn't matter.

Her territory had spread and was starting to leak into the lands belonging to other demon lords who were severely peeved by it, but did nothing to stop her; even the tai-youkai (great demons) didn't want to go against her eyes. But whether from time or age, the fearsome demoness changed, she grew peaceful, humble and kind and only the other Old Ones from the past knew why. She eventually surrendered all her land and entire empire to settle down in some unknown location; Kagome's father knew where she lived though, when Aki was young he took the half-phoenix to the Dou-Hime's home so that she could train him properly in his using his demon abilities.

"Did you ever stop to think…"

He began to say, his voice shaking in rage.

"… that we're not hiding secrets from you so much as we are protecting you from them?"

_We. _Just how many people were in on this scheme? Obviously everyone at the main house knew, Kikyo knew which meant that her mother, grandfather and maybe even Souta did too; that hurt her the most. Angry tears began welling up in her eyes and she bit hard on her lip, hoping they would just go away.

"I don't need protection. I _have_ to know what happened; I can't live my life with a very important gap in it."

He opened his mouth to say something back, but decided against it.

"Fine, I'll take you to see the Dou-Hime, but take into consideration how _hard_ I'm trying to keep this from you."

At that moment she did and tried to say something, but he was already storming off, leaving her alone in the park. Her strong conviction for the truth waned slightly, was this a true case of ignorance being bliss? Her life would become exponentially simpler if she just let the whole thing go and move on, but she couldn't, something in her, beyond curiosity, compelled her to figure out the truth. At the same time, Aki's conviction was also waning; was two years enough time for her to be able to handle the truth?

He kicked anything within range of his feet, sulking off to Ayaka's apartment; Aki didn't know what he and the Ryogan heiress had going on at the moment, they took their time together in stride and promised nothing to each other. It seemed that being with another person who was hurting from someone they cared for brought a strange comfort to him. He knocked on the door of her tiny apartment she rented with her fictitious name and forced a smile for her when she opened the door; her beautiful dark blue eyes met his and she managed a smile back.

"Hello, Aki."

He rubbed the back of his neck slowly.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I was… ah…"

He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but couldn't come up with a quick enough story to explain his absence; he didn't realize the extent in which Ayaka could read body language.

"You were with _her_, right?"

She said, referring to the unknown woman who had shattered this handsome half-demon's heart; he blinked in surprise and let out a hollow laugh.

"I wish I could do that with the same ease that you can."

The woman knew a compliment when she heard one and smiled, stepping back to let him in, but shook her head.

"No, you don't; it's a forced skill I had to develop in order to survive."

He wasn't going to argue with that as he stepped inside and shrugged out of his coat which was unnecessary since his demon blood kept him warm through all seasons, but he did it for her sake to make him seem more human and less demon to take her mind away from a certain Takahashi male. They walked over to her small couch and lay down upon it, embracing tenderly with the lights turned off; the TV was on, but neither was paying any attention to it. All of their focus was on each other, on light caresses and subtle movements that promised everything and nothing.

In the dark they could easily picture embracing the one whom they wanted it to be, but would never say it aloud; they spoke the names of their unrequited loves in their heads, were touching and held the way they always wanted to, but never could. Being a substitute wasn't so bad when he was doing that exact same thing; but lately Aki saw less and less of Kagome in these moments and more of the real woman beneath the mask of night: Ayaka.

She truly was beautiful, everything she did had a natural elegance to it as if she were of demon blood herself; her heart was kind and always open, but fragile and easily hurt. He grew scared sometimes that if he held her too tightly, she would break. But more than anything, she made him smile; there was an air about her that just drew him in, and like a moth drawn to the flame he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He could feel her jump a little in surprise, but she laughed a quiet laugh and he couldn't help but smile in response.

"You sure are being bold tonight."

He kissed her lips lightly in response and sniggered.

"Well, winter's coming, it's getting cold, and we could use a little warming up."

This brought about another laugh from her as she dropped her head to rest it against his chest.

"The news says we're going to have the largest snowfall since the eighties and record low temperatures."

She shifted her body a little and he took the hint with a smile.

"Well, we best get started then."

* * *

"Oh… look what Death just coughed up."

"Careful dear sister, you might not be so lucky with me."

Naraku sat up and looked at the tiny room he and his family was crammed into, he could tell by the atmosphere that they were underground, he smelled smoke and noticed there were bits off ash on him, the floor, and the clothes of his clan. He flexed his muscles, feeling stiff with his reconstructed body, but accepted it and took a better look around the room; he recognized the structure to be one of the old cellars beneath the Onigumo Castle, but this one was different from all the others. It was empty except for five large pots which stood together in a row against the far wall, four pulsed steadily, while one remained silent and still; his hand quickly went to his chest and felt an old rhythm he had not in many years.

"After all that work I went through, you put my heart back?"

His eyes narrowed at Kagura and Hakudoshi who were clearly the decision makers; the wind sorceress scoffed and snapped her fan shut with the arrogance of a pureblood demon.

"It's not like we really had a choice, you were nothing but frozen water vapor when the miko left."

The hanyou had more pride than to shiver at the sudden memory of being completely destroyed; he would have died had it not been for his heart and the flesh it lived in. Rising to his feet with ease he looked up at the ceiling of the underground cellar.

"What's the damage?"

He asked, breathing the smoked scented air more deeply; the wind witch snickered and tried to brush off the ashes from her sleeve.

"Well, don't plan on vacationing here anymore."

Their leader gave a longing sigh.

"I'm going to miss the screaming."

He said nothing more and just continued to stare; obviously his mind was running ideas and possibilities and the family was kept in the dark until the plan was enacted, normally keeping silent and just following what he said, but Kagura was feeling brave this evening.

"What will you do about Kagome? We don't have the pictures to expose her, but we do have rumors to fall back on."

Naraku blinked and lowered his gaze to rest on her, she grew wary, but like Naraku, her pride wouldn't let it show; he scoffed with a confident smile.

"Look what happened to us when we acted too quickly; our next move requires more thought and plenty of time to pass. We'll go attack what hurts her the most, but we need time to do that and there's nothing like time to reveal what others don't want you to know."

* * *

Kagome woke up in the middle of the night by her very loud ring tone; stumbling around ungracefully with unsteady legs she found the little bastard when she stepped on it.

"God dammit… what?!"

She more or less yelled into the phone when she answered it.

"_Is that what you say to the man who's going to save your little band?"_

Mr. K responded with mock offence, nothing like rubbing a little salt in the wound to give it an extra sting so she'll never forget; the singer groaned a bitter apology and looked at the clock by her bed.

"It's barely three in the morning… what does Bad Luck have to do at three in the morning?"

She whined and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with a mildly uncoordinated hand

"_Oh, it's not what Bad Luck has to do, it's what you have to do, Higurashi."_

"Huh?"

She croaked out, still half-asleep, but the suggestive tone in his voice didn't escape her.

"_I highly suggest you get out of Mr. Takahashi's home right now and go back to the apartment with the rest of Bad Luck while there's still time."_

Now she was a little more awake.

"And why should I do that?"

She narrowed her eyes as he chuckled quietly.

"_Oh, you'll see."_

With a click he hung up on her; there was a moment of stillness before she bolted into motion, when Mr. K said get out, it was wise to do so with a sense of urgency. She rushed through her disguise routine almost forgetting to douse herself in Aki's spray as she made a bee-line for the front door.

"Now what has driven you to make a run for it at this godforsaken hour?"

Sesshomaru's voice stopped her cold; she backed up to see him sitting in his office chair facing her room with a lit cigarette in his hand. Ever since they returned he had not typed a single word in his laptop, choosing instead to spend his hours sitting, brooding and become strangely reluctant to have her leave his home without him by her side; perhaps it was those new territorial vibes that Inu-Yasha was poking fun at earlier since she became his mate.

"Getting cold feet?"

He teased and she rolled her eyes, territorial or not he was caring _way_ too much about the whole mate thing; she still shuddered at the word.

"No, my manager just called and highly recommended that I return to the apartment with my band this moment. So, I'm off. Bye!"

She made a move to leave when he was suddenly in front of her, blocking her path; his gold eyes glittering dangerously in the darkness, primal and instinctive.

"Sesshomaru, what's gotten into you?"

He blinked a few times like he himself wasn't sure what was going on, but that moment quickly passed over him and his usual self-confidence retuned; at least the creepy demon look was gone.

"You have, and not in a favorable way. Despite all the perks of repression and heavy drugs… you are my mate, little miko, and nothing can change that."

He drew closer to her, suddenly making her feel very aware of how female she was to his male, how when their bodies came together it was like completing a perfect circuit and when they were together nothing felt wrong.

"I have taken your blood into me as fulfillment to The Call of Mates and now you are mine, your blood lives within me through you."

He was only a step away from her now, she could feel every pore, every hair, and every sense drawn to him, consumed by his presence, her body felt the connection her mind refused to believe.

"And what does that have to do with the situation right now?"

She challenged, mentally patting herself on the back for her ability to stay composed.

"It means, little miko, that should you die, part of me dies too…literally."

Something dawned on her that moment which made her feel happy and strange at the same time; if what he said was true then that meant that she was now a permanent part of his life, she was important to him and not just a cure for his writer's block which elated her, but at the same time she could tell he didn't want this. He didn't want her attached to him so intimately, she was suddenly his weakness, something rival demons could use against him, not that it happened very often, but it still happened. At the same time, something he said to her suddenly came to the front of her mind; she furrowed her eyebrows at the words before looking up at him, unsure.

"Back in Kyoto, you said not make you think you made a big mistake twice. Did you mean what I think you meant? Did you ah… mate with someone before?"

A stillness came over him, the likes of which she had never seen before and she knew then that she was treading on very sensitive ground; his eyes grew dangerous again, but in a different way than before. It was that painful recognition, something unpleasant from the past shone in his eyes that even the cruelness in his heart couldn't get over. It was very quiet for a while before he snarled something nasty and punched the nearness wall; she jumped at the sound and at the large hole his fist was buried in.

"No."

He responded, the word sounded forced, like he had to wrench it from his throat the same way he wrenched his fist out of the mess in the wall. It tore at her, even though it was only his anger that he allowed her to see, she knew she had rubbed salt in an old wound and without any prompting she threw her arms around his torso and held him tightly; it was the only thing she could think of to do at that moment to calm things down.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to make things worse."

The demon blinked a few times in surprise and looking around he took note to collect himself and push her off him.

"Don't waste your sympathy. There are worse situations than this."

She smiled meekly.

"You know, my family is all about ridding the world of everything demon; perhaps I can find a way to reverse this 'mate' thing."

He could tell she was struggling to say the words and not really meaning them, but regardless, he shook his head.

"There is no undoing what has been done."

The smile faded as her hand went to the mark hidden beneath her shirt; she was surprised that it was starting to heal into a scar with the unique shape of a crescent moon, not unlike the one on his forehead.

"I will get you one of these days."

He quirked his eyebrow as a shadow of her former smile returned.

"I will get you to give me your blood and make you mine."

The demon scoffed in response and leaned down; he took her lips lightly, but where he should have ended with a simple kiss, he moved in and took her into the shelter of his body. When they finally parted, she was breathing heavily, her eyes glazed over with a need that was reserved only for him, smoldering deep inside her, awakened by the slightest touch and he pulled away, chuckling.

"Don't plan on that being anytime soon."

Feeling slighted she drew up a haughty smirk of her own.

"I've got the rest of my life to convince you. I can wait."

That made him frown.

"Don't kill the mood."

Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow and stare up at him.

"What mood?"

"This one."

Suddenly he was on her, all hands and not-so-subtle movements; she gasped when her body hit the wall with his pinning her to it. If she wasn't so addicted, she would have been severely peeved, but instead she grinned and dove after his shirt to get at his skin.

"Happy birthday to me."

* * *

Turning the lock on the door to the apartment, Kagome slipped silently inside, barely able to see anything in the dark she fumbled closing the door and finding her footing beneath the various items scattered on the ground. She left Sesshomaru's a little later than she expected, but had absolutely no regrets about it as she allowed the stupid, dazed smile to stretch across her face. The soreness in her pants she could live with. The miko took a few steps blindly in the dark when in an instant the lights flipped on.

"Surprise!"

Bombarded by five guys armed with party favors, corny decorations, and confetti she had every right to scream… just a little. The sensation of jumping out of her skin passed as Inu-Yasha grabbed her and pulled her to the kitchen where a large and messy strawberry cake with candles just for her was laid out.

"Happy birthday, Kagome!"

They cried in unison again and sure enough in pink icing were the hastily scrawled words: Happy 20th Birthday Kagome!

"Mr. K called and told us that we weren't getting the day or night off to celebrate, so we had to do it in the morning."

Miroku explained when that look of bewilderment didn't leave her face.

"And why didn't you tell us it was your birthday? Aki just mentioned it only hours ago and we couldn't get you anything."

Shippo whined while Koga lit the twenty little candles stuffed in various areas on the cake; she smiled and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry; I've just been so preoccupied I barely remembered myself."

They weren't going to argue with that especially since the experience with the frozen version of Kagome; after a few slices of cake Kagome was sitting with the rest of her band joking contently as the early morning light began to break over the horizon.

"It's so strange for Mr. K to be nice."

The miko commented after a while and everybody turned to her with raised eyebrows.

"Mr. K? Nice?"

Koga snorted and shook his head; Kagome shrugged her shoulder.

"Yeah well, it may have been an extreme sort of nice, it being so early in the morning, but he did call and tell me to come over here for my surprise party."

The silence that followed wasn't what she had been expecting.

"Uh, Kagome…"

Miroku started.

"…Mr. K called us to tell us you were coming, but he had no idea we were planning this. He didn't even mention your birthday."

That had her blinking again in confusion and worry which caused the rest of the band the glance around at each other. Aki set down his cake and locked eyes with the singer, there was suspicion in his eyes and a gut feeling that Mr. K was up to something unpleasant again.

"What exactly did he say to you?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

"He said to get out of Sesshomaru's and back here while there was still time."

She looked up, the color draining from her face a little.

"What the hell is he planning?"

She said and immediately Inu-Yasha dove for his phone and furiously dialed the crazy American.

"Dammit, he's not answering!"

He said and threw his phone on the bed after the fifth attempt while everyone else had gathered around discussing what their manager had said with very sober expressions.

"Do you think he accidentally revealed that you're a girl?"

Kagome shook her head.

"He sounded too confident to have slipped up on something big like that; whatever he did, he did it deliberately and wanted to make sure I was here when it happened."

Glancing out the window once, Miroku closed the blinds, seeming unsure about what he was going to say.

"Hey guys, what time is it?"

Koga checked the clock on the kitchen wall.

"A little after eight in the morning. Why? We don't have to be at the studio for a while."

The former-monk shook his head and went to the TV in the corner of the large apartment and turned it on.

"It's a bit of a long shot, but whatever Mr. K did or said or whatever… we may be seeing it on the news."

At the mention of the idea they knew he was onto something, but everyone, including Miroku, wanted him to be wrong. He blindly flipped through the channels until they found it and the remote fell out of his hands; everyone's eyes were hopelessly trapped to the screen in disbelief and shock.

"…_from the rising band Bad Luck and the famous novelist Sesshomaru Takahashi have been in a relationship for nearly six months. The following pictures were sent to our station late last night, proving such accusations."_

The screen changed to a slideshow of Kagome in her male disguise with Sesshomaru, there was no disputing the photographs, no trick of the light to play on, it was all clear as day. There were pictures where they were kissing in what was supposed to be a secluded area, him taking her to his home, carrying her bridal-style, but the worst one was right after the concert when the demon popped out of nowhere and asked her to come back to his place, taken with his hand covering her mouth, lips sensually whispering in her ear, and her eyes glazed over with such a desire, head tilted back ever so slightly. How the hell did Mr. K get that photo?!

It didn't matter anymore, the secret was out and there was no taking it back, millions of people at that very moment were watching as her relationship with her demon lover was put in the spotlight on display for anyone and everyone to poke and prod at. Now she understood why Mr. K had her hiding out here, there would have been no way for her to escape the army of the press from getting to her; hopefully Sesshomaru could handle them.

"_This discovery has been quite a shock to the pop culture community and could possibly spark another dispute for demon rights if this unique couple decides to fight for their relationship…"_

Kagome snorted.

"Like we have any choice now."

She said it before thinking and clamped her mouth shut, mentally cursing herself as the eyes of her band mates returned to her; there was no way in hell she could tell them, especially Aki, about what happened in Kyoto. They hadn't connected the dots about her disappearance back to Kyoto and the sudden annihilation of the Onigumo Clan and she made sure as hell that the crescent scar Sesshomaru gave her would be covered at all times. Nobody could know, not now when there was too much to deal with.

"What'd you mean by that?"

Inu-Yasha said, she looked at Aki whose eyes were locked onto her person with his full attention, she didn't like it when he did that, made her feel like she was being accused or guilty of something. But in this case she was. The miko waved an uncaring hand, trying her best to sound convincing.

"Nothing, just thinking aloud and it won't help us now. So what are we supposed to do? No doubt the press is hell-bent to divide and conquer; they're already at Sesshomaru's and probably at the studio too."

They grew silent at this until Aki stood up.

"Who gives a damn if they're at the studio? We've got practice to do and concerts coming up, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not letting a bunch of human sized parasites stop me."

They all shrugged or looked away, of course they were going too, but damn it was going to be a pain and decided to head out at that moment knowing that later on the crowd was going to be even worse.

"Kagome, you can ride with me."

Aki said it more as an order than a suggestion which she assumed was him getting back at her and figuring she owed him, she nodded and followed, albeit a little numbly. Looking back as Miroku turned off the TV she closed her eyes and inwardly groaned… she was _never_ going to catch a break. She and Aki were the only ones in the car as they drove; there was no radio or conversation, just a tense silence.

"Once this media frenzy has cooled down, I'll take you to see the Dou-Hime."

Aki's voice sounded bitter which meant that he was telling her the truth; she said nothing in response, just nodded and turned to look out at the passing scenery. She would have felt a little better with this information, but the sudden predicament killed any chances. The crowd began almost three blocks away from Tohma Studios; police had to be called out to clear the streets as people pushed and shoved to get to the Studios; Kagome and Aki ducked the heads a little to try to hide their identities.

The miko looked around at the people; some were die hard fans of Bad Luck, many of Sesshomaru's books or the demon himself, some evidently were new fans to the once-secret relationship, but there were also those who were quite the opposite. News reporters with vans, radio jockeys with microphones, and freelance hopefuls swarmed the area hoping to catch the biggest pop culture story of the year. By the time they could see the studios they were discovered and it was only by sheer politeness that the crowd didn't smash the windows and drag them out.

"Aren't animals supposed to be kept in the zoo?"

Kagome asked, completely bewildered and a little frightened; Aki growled low in his throat and revved the engine of the car, slowly forcing his way through the crowd. When they finally pulled into the garage at the Studios, the crowd was forced away, but that didn't stop the employees in the building from being just as bad. People openly pointed and whispered as the two walked by and not-so-subtly taking a picture or two, some even glared in disgust; she glared right back and they eventually turned away.

"Come on, Kagome."

Aki pulled her by the arm to keep her moving as the rest of Bad Luck surrounded her for protection and show of loyalty; they clamored into an elevator and the higher it went, the higher the collective rage grew towards their manager. The band wasn't surprised to open the door to their studio to find the American sitting rather contently in a chair with his feet propped up and even had the gall to smile when they walked in.

"You amateurs; get a little taste of celebrity life and you suddenly go sour on me."

Koga slammed the door so hard that the walls shook.

"You've got some nerve you blonde bastard! How dare you do that to Kagome!"

The wolf bit out, showing his fangs.

"You've completely ruined Okaa-san!"

Shippo said right after and that made the tall man quirk an eyebrow.

"Not to mention ruining Bad Luck."

Aki spat quietly; Mr. K turned to the girl who had said nothing, but her glare was enough.

"Ruined? You think I've ruined her and the band? Quite the contrary silly, little demon, I've _saved_ it."

That drew a confused reaction out of her and the blonde didn't miss it; he took his feet off the table and leaned forward.

"Because of your drama…"

He said pointing to her.

"… I had to cancel or put off all of Bad Luck's performances, showings, interviews, _everything_; big businesses, the people you are trying to impress, do not take kindly to being let down. Most lost faith in you guys and dropped you from their lists and your fans were beginning to move on. I was going to reveal you romance one day or another, but this was the perfect opportunity…"

There was a flash of anger in the singer's eyes, the only thing stopping her from punching him was the holster strap on his gun was undone, leaving the weapon quickly accessible.

"… right as Bad Luck was leaving the limelight I not only thrust you back into it, you're now in the very center and suddenly everyone wants to know about you. Now, I believe this is the part where you will thank me for my efforts."

Miroku cracked his knuckles.

"How 'bout a knuckle high-five to the face?"

The American shrugged casually and rose to his feet; the monk had to bit his lip to keep himself from whimpering.

"Another time perhaps for I must get going."

He made it to the door and paused when Kagome spoke up.

"Where to?"

Normally she wouldn't give a damn, but the man had caused a considerable amount of damage and she wanted to be prepared for any more. There was a smile spreading across his face as he opened the door.

"To the airport. Sango Taijiya's flight will been landing soon."

He closed the door on that note, but could still hear Kagome's squeal; even with her life turned upside-down, she still had the ability to enjoy the little things. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and rose up his right hand.

"3… 2… 1…"

"Mr. K!"

Right on cue Kagome burst out of the room and slammed into him at full sprint which sent them both toppling to the ground. The miko didn't seem to care as she took hold of the front of his shirt as her face got up close and personal with his.

"Take me with you!"

He could see the glitter in his eyes and grimaced; that much happiness in one person made him sick; he used his large hand to clamp it over her mouth and shove her face away.

"Sango is a delicate flower; she doesn't need a zealot like you trampling all over her."

As he tried to get up, Kagome threw him back to the floor with her; he wheezed as the impact knocked the air out of his lungs.

"I'll be careful! You won't even know I'm there!"

Mr. K had to use more force this time to pry her off him.

"Not gonna happen kid; no one knows she's coming back, if all goes well no one will know until on Tohma's terms. You and your demon have the biggest targets on your backs right now; I doubt anything you do will go unnoticed by the press."

That sobered her mood up quickly as she backed away from him like a puppy that just got kicked; he chose not to notice as he brushed himself off and walked away unhurried. She let out a huff and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're lucky you're not a demon or I'd fry your ass."

"Heard that."

The American called as he rounded a corner, the singer let out a little squeak and dashed for the shelter of her studio.

* * *

She leaned casually against a wall, hair tucked into a baseball cap pulled low over her eyes which had the extra protection of sunglasses; she wore plain baggy clothes and beside her were several cheap, worn-out suitcases. She carefully hid her smile beneath a zipped-up jacket as the masses passed her without so much as a glance her way.

"You're getting better…"

The woman perked up at the sound of a familiar voice and was careful to not make any moves to draw attention to herself.

"… would've walked right by you had you not told me exactly where you were."

Mr. K walked right up to the woman and folded his arms against his broad chest, looking down at her; she was tall, but he was taller. He could see her rich brown eyes peeking through the sunglasses to look at him and smile.

"Hello, Sango."

The American said with all the ease and familiarity there ever could be between them; she wasn't impressed… or fooled.

"Never thought Tohma would keep a crazy bastard like you in charge."

The blonde laughed; it sounded false and forced, just like always.

"Good to know there's no animosity between us."

"None lost anyway."

She added and he shook his head and half-heartedly threw up his arms.

"After all my efforts I get no respect."

She gave him a punch in the arm; for all the playfulness in appearance, it made the American wince. He never forgot how strong she was, for such a difference between their sizes, she was the only one whom he made sure to stay out of range of.

"So are we going to leave or stand here until we get noticed?"

She always had a subtle way of getting to the point; he rubbed his arm where she hit him before holding it out in front of him with a little bow and allowing her to pass. They came towards the exit where the crowd had thinned considerably; Sango paused when she noticed Mr. K was trying to get her attention.

"Where's Kirara?"

He asked, hoping that he just sounded curious and nothing else; she glanced down.

"Right pocket."

She turned so he could see the bulge in her coat pocket; he made cooing sounds as his hand inched closer to the mass. Barely two inches away quick movement and several nasty snarls had him snapping his hand back.

"Still doesn't like me, eh?"

"I stole one of the shirts you took with you on our final show and brought it back home with me. Let Kirara have it… didn't last long."

Without waiting for a response she turned back and headed outside, leaving her old manager to suffer alone with that knowledge. She embraced the swarms of people that walked, rushed, and maneuvered around her, the smell of car exhaust and fried food and buildings that touched the skies; it wasn't home, but it was a welcome familiarity. The blonde paused cautiously a few feet behind her and stuffed his hands in his pockets; she addressed him without looking back.

"Tohma said that once I settled in he had something interesting to show me."

She could hear him snigger behind her, but didn't turn to look at him.

"I'm not sure I would call it interesting, but it's definitely… one-of-a-kind."

* * *

"Aim for the cameras!"

Kagome cried, swinging her make-shift weapon around: a broom she pilfered from the janitor's closet; Inu-Yasha and Shippo stood back to back with her as they made a tight ring to cover all sides were doing to same thing, but they had less mercy and struck out at the cameramen. Inch by inch they made their way closer to Sesshomaru's main gate, but there was no relief when they reached the iron bars; looking through them she saw that people who were hiding in the woods popped out and began to push their way down from the other side of the fence.

"Hold on, Kagome!"

Was all the warning she got as Inu-Yasha wrapped his arm around her waist and made an effortless leap over the gate and infestation of people to land in a tree branch far away; a few moments later, Shippo touched down beside them. All three band members were breathing hard a sweating; the miko didn't realize that the hanyou still had his arm around her waist until he realized it first and quickly took it away.

"Hurry and make a run for the door. We'll hold them off as long as possible."

She nodded, knowing there was no time to disagree.

"Thank guys."

The singer took care to climb down like a normal person, not wanting the press to figure out any more than they already did; once her feet hit the ground she took off in a full sprint up the gravel pavement only to figure out too late that by doing so she made herself an obvious target. The first photographers appeared as she tried to make a run for the cover of the woods; she dug her heels and made a sharp direction change to hide on the other side, but more people had come out from there as well.

"Where the hell do all of you come from?!"

Kagome cried and veered again on the straight path towards the house; she knew that she was on her own with them, Shippo and Inu-Yasha were stuck dealing with the people heading up from the gate. She ducked, dodged, jumped and tackled her way around them, forcing herself to limit her effort knowing that they might grow suspicious if she went full on.

"_I wanna learn ninja stuff Otou-sama! I wanna be like the ninjas on TV!"_

_Kagome ran in circles around her father as he calmly paced towards the training grounds; he smiled every time she stumbled in the robes that were still too big for her._

"_Now why would you want to be like the ninjas on TV?"_

_He asked with over-emphasized curiosity, instead of making her stop, it just made her run around more excitedly, jumping every now and then._

"_I wanna do tricks in the air! Throw shuriken and… and beat the bad guys up! Tons of bad guys all at the same time!"_

_She squealed a little as her imagination went wild._

"_I'll take on twenty! No… forty! No… a hundred! Yeah! I'll beat up a hundred bad guys at the same time!"_

_Kagami openly laughed, but she didn't take it as offence._

"_That's it; no more late night shows for you young lady. They're obviously rotting your brain."_

_The girl stopped her running and walked beside him, he had to slow his pace a little in order for her to keep up; she reached up through her too-long sleeves and grabbed his hand. The priest glance down as her eyes met his._

"_But will you teach me Otou-sama?"_

_He grinned and ruffled her hair with his large hand._

"_Of course. I'll teach you everything you want to know and then some."_

"_Like how to beat a hundred bad guys?"_

_She said, with that excitement back in her voice; the priest smirked as he reached down and yanked Kagome up by her little ankle; she squealed loudly as he swung her around like a sack of vegetables and pulled her up so that their eyes were at the same level; he could tell that the blood rush to her head was making her dizzy as her laughter became a little slurred._

"_Kagome, when I'm done with you, you'll be able to beat a thousand bad guys…but just hope you'll never have to."_

Ah how she was wishing that right now, but this time it was different, she couldn't knock the paparazzi out cold or kick their teeth in, wouldn't exactly help her band out with several lawsuits breathing down their necks. The best she could hope for was not to get caught up by them; she could hear the bulk of the press coming closer along with Shippo and Inu-Yasha, and just ahead was the front door: safety. She let out a cry of triumph when her body slammed into it and turned the knob to open the door. It was locked.

"Oh shit."

Was all she got out before the wave of people, cameras and microphones was shoved into her face; the sheer volume of people had her pressed tightly against the door.

"Kagome! Is it true about your relationship with Sesshomaru Takahashi?"

"Do you live with him?"

"What is the status of your relationship?"

"How do you feel about the other relationships he has currently?"

"How has your band taken the news?"

"Did they know?"

She clamped her hands over her ears to quiet the noise, but it did no good; they were too close, asking things too personal, too loud, too nosy, too _everything_. It made her want to scream. She opened her mouth to do just that when the door she was shoved against gave way; a familiar arm wrapped itself around her waist, hand settling on her hip like it belonged there and pulled her flush against a tall warm body. She knew it was him long before the press went into a frenzy of questions towards him, screaming his name.

"I will say this only once and then you will a leave."

Despite the strength they had in numbers, they knew that Sesshomaru's wealth gave him a legal advantage over them; whatever he was going to say they had to accept and leave or suffer consequences no amount of income from their stories was going to pay for. Inu-Yasha and Shippo forced their way to the front to see all eyes on the demon, including their singer's. The hanyou knew what his brother would say to these people, what he would always say when something like this surfaced: you could say we have a relationship, but then you would be printing lies.

"The allegations of a relationship between Kagome and myself…"

A flash of painful sympathy marred the half-demon's features, he knew how much it would hurt their singer who wasted her affections on someone who couldn't care less; he saw Kagome look away and see his expression and could tell she knew what he was thinking; the same hurt came across her face before she could properly hide it and just lowered her head so that the pictures wouldn't be able to get a clear shot of her shame.

"… is true."

The hanyou's jaw hit the floor and her head snapped up so fast it made her neck hurt, she opened and close her mouth, trying to figure out what to say, if there was anything to say at all, but nothing came to mind and she just stared at him dumbly, eyes hopelessly locked onto those molten gold pools, it was so unfair for him to have eyes like that.

"Kagome is my lover."

He said not looking at the press who had suddenly gone into a frenzy; he kept his full attention on her; with his free hand he tipped her chip up just slightly. That smirk she had come to know and hate went all the way to his eyes; the shock of his admission kept her from doing anything.

"We're lovers."

Stated matter-of-factly like he was announcing the time of day; dropping his head down to the ear so that the cameras couldn't see he tortuously whispered

"Let's give the people what they want, shall we?"

Her lips parted slightly and he took advantage by claiming them fully with his, tongue intertwined and teasing hers without any warning or his usual tentative exploring; her face flushed with heat and the sudden clench in her core had her body twitching to move and grind against him. The mark above her collarbone began to throb as much as her heat, demanding attention; he pulled away right as he sensed her body reacting to him and turned to the crowd. His ears picked up the quietest sounds from her, a glimpse her way and he instantly regretted it, she was staring openly at his lips with smoky bedroom eyes, but didn't make a move towards him; he knew that she didn't want the kiss to end and was having trouble with the instant need that demanded sating.

"This is the part where you leave. Kagome and I have much to catch up on."

With that said he whisked her into the house and slammed the door on the curious eyes; the two weren't sure who put the distance between them, but suddenly it was there and suddenly it was unbearable. Despite her exhaustion, chaotic emotions and potential exposure to the whole world, her very being pulsed with desire; the only control she had left was not to jump him and rip the clothes from his body. He stood before her stoic as ever, but she knew that everything about him was focused solely on her; his eyes paid too much attention to her figure, slowly taking away her disguise piece by piece until there was nothing but skin and that sultry figure she carried with too much confidence.

"The paparazzi are still outside."

Kagome said with a very feminine suggestion in her voice and he growled, knowing that she was doing it on purpose.

"They will leave."

He said with his apathetic tone, but she knew better now.

"Not soon enough."

The singer stalked up to him and suddenly everything masculine about her disguise fell away. She was all female.

And she was all his.

Kagome tilted her head up and kissed his chin and bit her lip to keep from doing any more; he made sure not to move an inch, give any ground. He had more pride than to fall to the whims of this young human.

"I suppose we could wait."

He countered and a stab when through her about the idea of waiting; she had waited long enough already; he could see the almost-horror in her eyes at the prospect and, despite himself, he sneered.

"You can't beat me at my own game, little miko."

The smokiness in her eyes came back with a flare and suddenly the tips of her fingers were slowly running along the lines of his body, so light the demon could barely feel them beneath his clothes, but their caress sent fire rushing through his veins; he began to see red bleed around the edges of his vision.

"Oh, can't I?"

She said, making sure she sneered right back at him when she looked into his eyes; again, he stood rock still as her fingers danced across his bare skin, breaking eye contact didn't help the situation, but he stayed true and gave nothing away.

"They're still outside, Sesshomaru."

She whined ever-so seductively and he broke composure to growl, a low, deep, threatening rumble that rippled out from him to the surrounding area; it an instant his aura flared out, leaking through the walls, spreading like a bad omen. The cries of terrified humans breached the house and suddenly, they were gone; turning high-tail to get as far away from the Takahashi home to shake off the gripping pain that came from the demon's power. Inside she smiled at her little victory.

"Not anymore."

He said; she became aware that everything about him was very male; when his aura faded away there was a silence she had rarely experienced, but had sensed before…

The calm before the storm.

It started with a kiss. Kagome stretched herself up to her tip-toes and lightly claimed his lips and he let her, wanting her to know who it was that always won these little games; she let him think that and the battle of wills was over, for now. He waited until her arms wrapped around him before his body snapped into motion; she gasped as her back was suddenly against the wall of the living room. With one hand he pinned her wrists above her head and with the other he tore her shirt, padding and binding to shreds that fell around her; relief washed over her as her crushed chest suddenly spilled free. He fondled her, glorifying in the way she moved against him, trying to fight his hold he had on her. He could see it in her eyes the same way she could see it in his, that need beyond primal desire, the compulsion for the circuit they made to be complete.

"What do you want little miko?"

He asked her as his teeth lightly scrapped lightly down the valley between her breasts, feeling the acceleration of her heart at the sound of his voice.

"I want you…"

He began to smile.

"… to let go of my hands."

A silver eyebrow went up as he lifted his head back to her level and could see something wild barely contained behind her eyes.

"I have another idea."

He stated with that demon arrogance of his; she clung to him tightly as they went from the wall to the couch in a flash. He made a move to set her down when her leg wrapped around his and yanked hard; he spun and fell back against it.

"So do I."

She cooed back with a smile; languidly climbed up and straddled him, enticing him with her soft weight on him, the heat radiating from the juncture of her legs traveling through their clothes and right to his very obvious arousal. The singer eased her hands with a painful slowness around his neck as her hips moved against him; a lazy grinding that sent his senses haywire. He seized her by the hair, strong enough to keep her head in control, but not painfully and pulled her down to him; their lips met in a fiery kiss. Movements were, quick, rough, demanding as if nothing they did would ever be enough; her small hands pulled at his shirt and he slipped it off with ease.

Skin-to-skin gave her such a feeling of euphoria that for several moments all she could do was press herself against him and run her hands across his skin, trace the lines of his body with soft, yet calloused hands, commit every detail to memory, every movement he made as she tortured him with her light touch. The hand tangled in her hair pulled her head back and their lips parted so she could look into his eyes; they were quickly fading to red, he wanted her to know that he was on the brink of his control and at any moment it would be lost. She would welcome whatever was to come.

"What's the matter Sesshomaru? Think I'll break?"

She kissed him with the searing passion she knew would drive him over the edge, ground her hips the way she knew would make him crazy and felt the primal growl vibrating deep in his throat. His hands wrapped around her waist and flipped their positions; his hips ground her into the couch more than she falling back on it and continued to do so as his mouth claimed her heaving breasts. She became very aware of his manhood rubbing across her core, separated only by their clothes; easy access was quickly becoming a perk for her baggy attire. The demon nipped, kissed and sucked his way to the mark that throbbed for his attentions; he paused as his lips hovered, breath brushing against it and in an instant her eyes were as wild as his.

"Hurry up!"

Kagome snapped not caring about how it came off; with blood red eyes, he grinned, dropped his head down, and licked the full length of the scar. She let out a groan of relief and bucked her hips into his; body moving in an ancient rhythm like she had been doing it for years; after a few nips the demon grabbed her again and flipped her over, she was about to bite out a protest when suddenly his large frame surrounded her. His front was flush against her back and made her realize how small she was compared to him; she felt his hands encouraging her to spread her legs and did so willingly.

"Brace yourself."

She heard him rasp out and instantly her arms were gripping the back of the couch, breasts pressed into the cool leather; his hand was at the small of her back and took a fistful of her shorts and boxers, in one swift yank the material was down pooling around her knees. Cool air hit her first and then the sound of his zipper coming down; a shiver rocked her body, traveling up and down her spine in anticipation. He surrounded her, even like this she was still looking up at his chin, but he easily lowered his head to her ear.

"Sing for me, little miko."

That was all the warning she got when he suddenly thrust into her with no preparation or hesitation; a broken cry left her lips as pain melted into a mind erasing pleasure, overwhelming her until every bit her senses were filled with him and this moment. He drove into her quick and carelessly, but always making sure that it was her who was moaning, clawing at the couch because it was all she could do. He stretched her completely, filling her to the point of madness, completely leaving her, only to come slamming back in and the more he did it, the more unbearable it came… until she broke. Her body writhed beneath him in urgent and sloppy movements, her voice echoed across the walls and down the hall, and he was there, keeping her body steady so he could ride her to completion.

She came two more times before he finally broke; a film of sweat coated her body and made her hair stick to her forehead, her breathing was heavy and her chest heaved up and down with an enticing rhythm. The demon was breathing a little bit more, but looked no different than usual… so unfair. Night came and the demon went to the fridge, the sight of his bare back and chest was too much for the miko as she jumped over the couch and seduced him to taking her right there on the table which he easily obliged. Completely naked, she walked down the hall to go shower when suddenly he was all over her.

"Don't tell me you want more?"

The miko moaned between kisses; it seemed like every part of her had been thoroughly sucked, caressed, licked, kissed, and bitten which made everything so sensitive. He took her to the floor and smirked that Takahashi smirk as he grasped her knees and forced her legs apart.

"Relax, I'll go slow."

And he did, he slid into her with a slow ease and gently rocked his hips in and out of her knowing that she was already sore, but still the opportunity was too much to resist.

"You should know better to waltz around, completely bare and just begging me to take you all over again."

He rode her to a slow ecstasy after thinking she couldn't anymore.

"What the hell are you turning me into?"

She hissed out right before her orgasm wiped away all thoughts, until there was nothing but feeling. Soon after she slipped into a deep sleep and there the demon took her, even in her dreams.

* * *

"Hey girl! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Bad Luck hissed, clamping their hands over Mr. K's mouth and looking around to make sure no one caught his little slip of the tongue.

"You crazy American! What if someone heard you?!"

Koga snapped and the tall man pushed the group away from him.

"Tsk! After I go through all the trouble of doing something nice for you, you act so ungrateful!"

Everyone collectively rolled their eyes.

"The last nice thing you did for us was leave us alone."

Shippo spat, but the gun-lover took no offence as Kagome stepped forward; his blue eyes glinted all-knowingly at hers and she grew wary.

"What is it?"

He didn't answer her directly as he glance over his shoulder and called out.

"Okay Sango, you can come in now!"

The miko refused to believe it when the woman stepped into their studio, she was like her, disguised as a boy, but it was so obvious the moment the cap was off and the rich brown hair fell around her frame that this was Sango Taijiya, her idol. Kagome could only stare with her mouth wide open and after a few seconds the singer of Nittle Grasper turned to her manager and pointed at the miko.

"Is she always like this?"

The feminine pronoun didn't escape the boys' ears, but Kagome didn't hear a word; as quick as a demon she snatched her idol's hands and got on her knees.

"Now I can die happy."

Tears of joy welled up as she rose to her feet and invaded the singer's personal space; the woman tried not to seem too nervous around what appeared to be a ticking time bomb of repressed energy.

"Ah, thanks, I'm flattered; it's good to know that my work can be an inspiration to other artists."

Sango flinched as the miko's head snapped up and she raised the hands she was clutching up to her chest.

"Inspiration?! Oh no, you are more than just inspiration! You're the goddess I worship daily! I memorized every song you ever sang, when I was first singing I only did your music. I bought every t-shirt, CD, poster, watched every show about you, read every article, even use the same shampoo as you! I-I love you!"

She pounced, her body impaling the soft form of the woman; she stumbled but didn't fall. The band groaned or looked away, embarrassed that their singer just made herself look like a psychotic devotee, but stared in shock with deep red blushes as Sango openly fondled Kagome's chest and looked up at the American way too calmly.

"You're right; they're crushed, but they're there."

The miko reeled back and clutched her chest, her blush was the brightest as she looked bewildered at her manager who snorted a little and glanced away, giving no indication for sympathy.

"If Tohma knows, then Sango must know too. Besides, you should be happy that you're being honest with 'the goddess you worship daily'. Play your cards right and you might actually become friends."

The blonde's hand touched Sango's shoulder.

"Remember, only a few minutes; you've got practice."

She nodded as he left and closed the door; once Mr. K was gone, the Nittle Grasper singer unzipped her pocket and out popped the little neko youkai; Kirara shook her head as she leapt out of the tight space and settled comfortably on her right shoulder. Her eyes flickered up as she saw the shocked look was still on her face.

"Relax, your secret's safe with me, but between you and me, I don't think it'd be such a bad thing if people knew you were a girl."

She absently scratched the demon cat's ears and it purred contently; the band relaxed slightly and the miko quickly forgot about the groping as her eyes passed over the adorable little cat, her face lit up as cooed at it.

"Aw, so cute! Kirara, you're more adorable in real life than in any poster!"

The miko couldn't help but come closer to Kirara, reach out and pet her; the singer quirked an eyebrow.

"Short attention span, huh? Ah—Kirara!"

The neko leapt from Sango's shoulder right into Kagome's open hands, the biggest grin appeared on her face as she nuzzled the feline check to cheek, completely gushing over her and Kirara was obviously loving the attention; the older woman raised an amused eyebrow.

"Well, look at that. I don't think I've ever seen Kirara warm up to someone so quickly before."

Kagome giggled as it crawled and jumped all over her before finding a comfortable spot on her head, the little claws tickled.

"Alright, Kirara likes you, let's see if I will."

Sango leaned back on the wall and folded her arms.

"I was promised something special; now show me what you've got."

She blinked at the sudden request.

"Uh… okay."

A little numbly the girl hand the demon cat back to its owner and turned to her band as they went to set up. The singer counted them off, but the moment they started playing the woman raised her hand and they stumbled into silence. She suddenly looked much colder and that made Kagome nervous, there was no way she was making a fool of her self or her band in front of the one person she openly worshiped.

"No. Not with that voice you use to fool people, I want the real thing. You said you know all my songs, so play one."

The miko faltered she licked her lips and turned around to her band.

"Sleepless Beauty."

She said after a few moments, lucky that everyone knew the song; they mentally shifted gears, but just as Miroku started the energetic entrance, she stopped him.

"Would it be rude of me to ask if just Aki and I do this one?"

Her eyes flicked to the half-phoenix and smiled.

"Like we used to."

The hanyou looked to Miroku for permission and he gladly stepped away from his keyboard; Aki put down his guitar and rested his hands on the keys with a practiced familiarity. He nodded to her, she took a deep breath in and the voice which she had kept quiet for so long rang out sweetly in flawless synchronization with the slow and soothing notes of the keyboard.

"_Don't fear the passage of time_

_so that words of guidance won't_

_completely spill out and flow away_

_and there's no way out."_

Sango let out a sigh and smiled, closed her eyes and let the waves of the song, her song take her away.

"_I'm falling further down_

_to the reincarnation to you I say_

_color your eyes, without smiling alone._

_Even if the world you've long for_

_has suddenly burned to ash_

_the miracle could still happen to come again."_

Without any conscious thought, her lips parted and she began to sing in perfect harmony with Kagome, her voice supporting the miko's, but still allowing her to take the lead.

"_Let's depict vividly dancing thoughts_

_found in that place of light_

_that is unreachable even now._

_Don't fear the passage of time."_

She pushed herself away from the wall and opened her eyes to see the younger woman watching her in awe, unbelieving that the great Sango Taijiya was singing with her; she walked over to the miko's microphone, she quickly moved to giver her plenty of room to stand by her side.

"_So that words of guidance won't_

_completely spill out and flow away_

_hold my gently, always catch me_

_more and more in order to break my heart."_

As the last of the notes faded away, the two women looked at each other, the older one smile and ruffled her hair playfully with a loud declaration.

"With a voice like that you guys will be just fine!"

She looked at her watch and quickly ran for the door, all the while stuffing her hair back under her cap, pulling it low over her eyes.

"Talk with Mr. K, the day you go back to being a girl, I'd love to do a concert with you."

She waved and slammed the door on them; the band just stared motionless, slowly looking at one another with mouths dropped open in shock, but composed themselves as their singer turned to them.

"Sango Taijiya wants to sing with me… when I'm a girl…"

Big, fat tears formed in her eyes.

"I can't catch a break."

The guys knew what was coming and carefully tried to soothe her, but it was too late; she dropped to the floor and had a tantrum that a toddler would be proud of.

* * *

A month went by and winter was looming, people everywhere were preparing for the first snowfall, the trees had long lost their leaves and went to sleep until spring would rouse them, the temperature had dropped and with it the number of paparazzi following Bad Luck and Sesshomaru around. All outdoor concerts were over until warmer weather so the band was more or less able to relax with only the small venue indoor concerts to perform. The demon had published another book: "Cool", how appropriate, and despite the freezing temperatures the latest novel topped the charts and sold the most in his entire career, bookstores everywhere were sold out and people slept by the doors for an opportunity to get their hands on a copy.

"I'll be better in a couple of days."

Inu-Yasha groaned to his band; the other attribute of winter were the winter illnesses, the stomach flu had been circulating around Tohma Studios and the hanyou was the first of them to catch it. The other five wore face masks and gloves religiously to prevent infection; they had a week of freedom and were prepared to go their separate ways and didn't want anything to hinder their first real vacation. Miroku and Koga were the first to leave, no specific place, just away from the chaos of the city; Shippo reluctantly left, he didn't want to leave his surrogate parent, but had not been to the orphanage, or his real parents' grave in a very long time.

Aki had plans to stay with Ayaka over the week, but unexpectedly cancelled, using their drummer as the excuse, but the white-haired hanyou knew better, he could tell just by looking at him that the guitarist was desperate to get some alone time with their singer. With Inu-Yasha bedridden for the next couple days Kagome volunteered to stay at the apartment and take care of him instead since she knew from experience that her boys barely knew how to care for themselves when they were well. She rolled her eyes at the healthy guys; it was a little pathetic the way they stared blankly at the sickly half-demon as if it would cure him.

"Get out of here Kagome."

Inu-Yasha finally told her after three days.

"I'm well enough to take care of myself, now go get cozy with my brother; I'm tired of hearing you pine for him in your sleep."

The miko scoffed, quite offended.

"I do not pine for him! I've never pined for anything!"

A silver eyebrow went up as he peered over his book.

"You certainly were last night and the night before that; you always want him to go harder."

A deep blush rose up and she turned away; he leaned forward a little.

"Now do you see why I want you to go away? A sick person doesn't need to be hearing something that gross… especially about his pain-in-the-ass brother."

"He's right."

Their eyes snapped up to see Aki walk in with a bowl of soup and set it down next to the drummer's bed; he was expressionless. Inu-Yasha would have slapped himself in the face if Kagome wasn't there, he completely forgot Aki hadn't left today and could see the white-knuckled fists the hanyou jammed into his pockets. He looked down in regret and shame for bringing up an old pain, but clearly the half-phoenix was better at hiding it as a little smile pulled at his lips.

"Your… _lover_ is probably missing you."

There was venom in his voice that even she could detect, but she had no idea why it was there, was he jealous that Sesshomaru was taking up all her free time?

"Aki—"

"I'll drive you home."

He cut in, snatched up the keys and walked to the door.

"Dress warmly, we're taking my bike."

Again, she tried to say something, but was silenced by the slam of the door; she turned to the drummer.

"Do you know what's going on with him?"

'_Of course I do! The idiot's in love with you and you refuse to see that it's killing him!'_ He licked his lips and turned a page in his book.

"No idea."

He said easily and went back to pretending to read, she took the hint and left; he was waiting for her with a helmet in hand, she slipped it over her head and climbed on behind him, her arms wrapping around his warm torso.

"I'm taking you to the Dou-Hime."

He said and could feel her jump in surprise.

"Really?"

He peered back at her through his helmet.

"Be a pretty cruel joke if I wasn't."

He gunned it out of the parking lot before she could respond; the usual vans and cars filled with photographers followed after them, but they were no match for him. When he lost them he veered off down a narrow street with barely enough room for the bike to zip through, but maneuvered his way around with ease as if he knew every which way he needed to move and turn to get through unscathed. He slowed to a halt in front of a house barely within the Tokyo borders, there were no other houses and the road was compressed dirt.

The house was large and of traditional design, reminded her of the main house, but there were no fences or gates to block anyone out and as she peered closer the sliding door didn't look like it had any sort of locks on it either. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of person wouldn't bother to try and keep out unwanted guests.

"Come on, let's hurry and get this over with."

Aki removed his helmet and got off the motorcycle and she quickly followed suit, making sure to stay behind him as he walked up to the shoji door and lightly knocked. The miko held her breath as she heard the shuffling of feet and rustling of clothes behind the door; when it opened, Aki made sure to put on a warm smile.

"Hey there, Chidori."

The hanyou girl rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked up at him aghast.

"Onii-sama?" (Big brother)

She gasped, suddenly all the exhaustion was gone from her face, she peered past Aki to the woman standing behind them.

"Kagome-san?"

Again, she asked in disbelief; it was striking how similar the siblings looked, but unlike Aki, she did not wear any seals so her striking crimson and gold hair and wings were open for display. The miko managed a believable smile for the girl.

"Hi Chi-chan, it's good to see you again, but what are you doing here?"

At thirteen years old, the hanyou girl was short for her age and timid, she avoided the singer's gaze and began picking at a splinter in the doorframe that didn't exist.

"I live here now. My demon blood is stronger that Onii-sama's; the seals kept breaking…"

She indicated at the pendant around the guitarist's neck.

"… and after Higurashi-sama died I couldn't get any more, so I'm stuck looking like this monster."

She looked down at herself in anguish and there was an instant angry growl coming from Aki's throat.

"Is that you talking or Okaa-san?"

He spat, leaning forward to stare her down and instantly the girl became desperately defensive and grabbed his arms.

"Please Onii-sama stop it! Mama tried, she tried very hard to accept me this way, but it wasn't safe for me to go outside anymore and I didn't want to her to suffer."

He was obviously displeased and pulled away from her, but did so gently; the girl forced herself to calm down and turned towards Kagome.

"I asked the Dou-Hime if I could live with her, take care of her; she and Mama talked and came to the agreement that I become the Dou-Hime's apprentice. This is my home now."

She opened the door wider and stepped aside.

"Please come in. I'm sure the Dou-Hime will be happy to see you again, Big Brother."

After a hesitant moment Aki stepped inside and she followed suit; they waited until Chidori closed the door and began walking ahead of them. Because of the dark the miko never noticed that the only thing the hanyou was wearing was a short robe and billowing out from the back was a beautiful tail folded up with rich red and gold feathers of all sizes and shades, so long it brushed against the ground. _"Sweeping the place must be a walk in the park for this girl…'_

The woman snickered to herself, but mellowed down as she took in the half-phoenix's entire profile, the girl was right when she said she had stronger demon blood than Aki, in fact it was so strong that she looked more demon than human. She could only imagine what that could do to a girl desperate to grow up normal, or as normal as possible under the circumstances. They walked down halls covered in centuries-old paintings depicting graphic battles, humans against demons, demons against demons, they were all different in their own way, but one common element they had was a white and black dragon was always present.

"Thank you Chidori, for bringing our guests in, you may go now child, I know how tired you are."

The girl gave a bow in the direction of the room at the end of the hall and left without a word, she was sleepy and decided to leave a few things left unsaid between her and her brother, lest the bickering get out of control.

"Aki, I'd know the sound of your stride anywhere. Come here boy and bring your guest too."

The voice sounded elderly and sweet like her great-aunt Kaede, unlike the unpleasant art on the wall, there was nothing unpleasant about the aura of the home, it was warm, welcoming, comfortable; he beckoned her to keep walking and they came upon a large, open training room with an elderly demoness sitting at the end of it sipping tea. Her hair was completely white and not because of age, she wore a simple dark blue kimono over her slender figure and her eyes were a cloudy white and stared forward at nothing which made Kagome realize something…

The Eye Princess was blind…

"Please, sit down and join me for some tea."

There was already a pot out with two cups filled; she beckoned to the two cushions in front of her. Aki nodded to Kagome in approval and they both walked up and took their places in front of the Dou-Hime; the demoness smiled when they did.

"It's been a while Aki. Chidori, despite your past history, has missed you and so did I."

The hanyou didn't respond and she turned her head in the direction of the miko.

"I see you've brought Miss. Higurashi back…"

After a moment of silence

"Not willingly."

He did not hide his distaste, but the singer paid no heed as she leaned forward.

"H-How do you know me?"

The demoness put down her tea.

"You're Kagome Higurashi, the girl whose heart I've kept sleeping in a box for nearly two years."

* * *

**Hello to all my readers out there, it's good to be back! I know this wasn't a speedy update, but at least I didn't take as long as the last one. **

**As a quick note, I know the song I used "Sleepless Beauty" was very different in the anime than the one I made it out to be in the story. I'm not positive if the lyrics are accurate, I just picked a translation the sounded like it was close; the slow reference I got for the song is a beautiful instrumental called: Sleepless Beauty Sacred Air Mix. If you want to hear it you can find it on , , and even Youtube. **

**To my readers, I thank you for your patience and support and see you next chapter!**

**-Love's Essence**


	10. What Lies Within

**Disclaimer: As always, the stories and characters belonging to Gravitation and Inu-Yasha strictly belong to their creators. This story is partially based off the series Gravitation**

**Gravitation**

Chapter 10: What Lies Within

"E-Excuse me?"

Kagome stumbled, obviously in shock; the extreme statement had her hand quickly going to her chest to feel her heart still beating quickly inside it; the demoness became immediately apologetic.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Wh-what do you mean you have my heart?!"

The Dou-Hime reached across the small table and placed a soft, comforting hand over the miko's.

"Forgive me child, I spoke incorrectly. Your physical heart is where it should be: with you."

The elder youkai kept her hand over the girl's until she got herself back under control; she turned a little accusingly at Aki who kept his eyes down, refusing to acknowledge the miko's distress, she didn't have to see the hanyou to know what he was doing and was rather annoyed, but she wasn't about to dwell on it. Once her breathing had calmed down the Dou-Hime, turned her attentions to the hanyou.

"Aki, have you told her nothing?"

The hands on his thighs tightened into fists.

"Not a word."

The elder demon let out a long sigh.

"When I received your message, I had a feeling you'd bring her with you."

The half-phoenix raised his eyes to glare at his former mentor.

"And your answer?"

Was all he said, the miko glanced at the two of them in confusion; the Dou-Hime put down her tea cup.

"No. It is impossible to suddenly remember that much without serious consequences; for someone to gain back so many memories, their mind would fall apart trying to process it all."

A sort of resignation fell over Aki and when he turned to her Kagome knew that they were talking about her.

"There, you see? You can't remember what you want without getting hurt. Now let's go."

He made a move to grab her and stand up when as quick as lightning the demoness's hand, shackled his wrist, long fingers keeping him where he was.

"Do not leave the other part out. Miss. Higurashi can handle her memories returning _if_ you tell her what they are first, but you can do better than that. You can _show_ her and I know that a large part of you wants more than anything for her to remember, remember the past between you two."

"That's enough!"

He yanked his arm out of her grip and again made a move to grab the miko so they could leave, he rose to his feet when suddenly the demoness was in front of him, even though she was blind, she knew exactly where his eyes were and she locked onto them. Her hands reached up and she gently framed his face with motherly hands; Kagome watched both in fear and amazement as the milky white eyes shifted to the deepest, darkest of black, there wasn't a shade or hue darker in existence than those eyes, it was as if they opened up and could swallow her whole being with nothing more than a whim. Even though the miko was not the focus of those eyes she still felt her mind, her very being exposed, vulnerable to whatever this woman wished.

"You are in so much pain Aki, it is dwelling in your thoughts, it's always on your mind; you deserve a break from carrying your burden. Now sleep."

The moment she said those words he dropped, his mind wiped clean of every daunting thought and memory so that his dreams would come to him untainted; she gently lowered him to the floor and brushed the hair away from his face with such caring. Kagome looked at the demoness in complete awe; she took down her best friend with the same ease as breathing, which made her wonder and wary… just how powerful was the Dou-Hime?

"I will explain to you what I can."

The elder said as she turned to the miko and sat back down in front of her, but did not touch her tea; with a little more caution, Kagome returned to her seat.

"It is not my place to tell you the truth and return to you your past, the only person who can to that is Aki."

She motioned to his sleeping form.

"I did not lie when I said I had your heart, but I only have a part of it. You and Aki came to me two years ago and asked me to keep it here."

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Me and Aki? Why him? Why does he have the answer to everything?"

She remembered the little hint her father's spirit gave her at his grave pointing her in the hanyou's direction, but now it was the demoness too. What was it about him that made her so important to her past? And what was all that about her coming here and asking the elder to keep her part of her heart here? The Dou-Hime could see the confusion and rapid thoughts running through her, she did not need her physic sight to know that.

"He truly didn't tell you anything…"

Kagome could hear the sadness in her voice, there was a slight pause, like she was trying to find the best way to say what she wanted to.

"Miss. Higurashi… Aki is the key to your memories because he's the one who made you forget in the first place."

* * *

This was her third night away from his home and Sesshomaru was becoming agitated; that little human was swinging from one extreme to the next and it was making him dizzy, had he known she was coming into his life with this much emotional baggage, he wouldn't have said a word to her back at that park where they first met. Most people had issues, well, everyone had issues, but this single girl had so many, they were taking numbers and sitting around in a waiting room with old magazines until their turn came up. He was forced to deal with all of them, she unintentionally unloaded her burdens onto him the moment she walked through his door and damn it, he let her in. It was getting to be too much.

"You must admit Mr. Takahashi, there is some resemblance of Miss. Yuki reflected in Kagome."

The demon gave her his darkest glare, but she hardly seemed deterred.

"I pay you to put your chicken scratch on the bottom of the prescription paper, not to aggravate me further."

The woman casually crossed one elegant leg over the other and fixed the position of her glasses on the bridge of her nose, not that it helped much.

"We have talked before Mr. Takahashi, I am just curious why you choose to be silent now."

The shrink may not have known him well, but she knew enough to say that comparing his old flame to his new one was a touchy subject and if he didn't want to talk, he wasn't going to.

"I'll double your fee if you sign my prescription so I can get the hell out of here."

The human sighed quietly and jotted a few unseen notes on her pad.

"Mr. Takahashi, while I am paid well to council humans and demons, money is not a priority for me. Believe it or not I truly do care for you and your well-being."

"Then you are wasting your sympathy."

There was a tense silence for a moment while the doctor studied her patient mentally, assessing what she could and trying to find an angle to work in a real conversation; taking a quick glance at her notes she took a mental deep breath… this was worth a shot.

"Something has changed in your relationship, so much so that you don't want me to hear a word of it…"

Again, that same glare letting her know she was treading on dangerous ground, but she paid little heed, it was time she pushed her patient a little.

"… it's not your relationship going public, such things do not bother you, in fact you may have enjoyed yourself teasing the media while in the spotlight…"

His lack of any response informed her that she was right, so she went back to what had first aggravated him.

"… the relationship is going in the exact same direction as it did with Miss. Yuki, am I right Mr. Takahashi?"

In an instant there was a glint of recognition in his eyes. She had him.

"Quite the déjà vu, not only does Kagome look like her, but everything he does takes you back to that time, he even talks like her, acts like her, smiles—"

"You're wrong."

The demon quickly cut her off and rose out of his seat, this was a first for them, but he showed her no teeth or flaring aura, the professionalism he has developed with this woman had to be maintained, he reputation of calm and control. But now she had gone too far and there was an exception to be made.

"They are nothing alike, in appearance perhaps, but of nothing else. Yuki was elegant and caring…"

Even though his voice had been calm, he knew he had said more than he wanted and, not knowing what else to do, he stopped his words and sat back down. Seething. He was more than willing to have the session end now, but she wasn't going to let him get off that easily; she wanted badly to reach out and touch his hand with hers, but she knew that this would bring no comfort to him so she settled for an empathetic gaze.

"She also betrayed you Takahashi-san. You would have died that night and you had no way of knowing that she—"

"Enough!"

He snapped, on the brink of becoming very unprofessional with her; the gaze which he had locked onto her eyes was deadly and promised violence should she continue. She visibly flinched, but that burst of fear was gone in an instant, this was the break that she had been looking for, this rise of emotions, forcing him to face the old demons—no pun intended—of his past. Yet, something was still missing, she had tried this tactic several times before and never once did he give in or break composure, what was so different now than in the past? She assessed him again, sparing only a few glances his way to take in his visual response: agitated and despite the 'No Smoking' sign above, he lit a cigarette.

"There will be no more discussion of past incidences."

The doctor nodded in agreement, they had gone far enough today, would be unwise to try to push him any further.

"Understood. Now let's talk about something current: Kagome."

He gave her no reaction, this was nothing new.

"You care for him."

Again nothing, but he did give a humorless snigger.

"You've a very twisted mind if you believe I care for that brat in the manner you're referring to. Kagome's a good lay, nothing gets boring."

The woman's lips curved faintly into a smile.

"If that's all you see in him, then why did you end all of your other relationships? Surely he can't satisfy your every desire."

She put down the pen and paper and leaned forward in her seat.

"He is special to you Takahashi-san, you know it as well as I do, but there's no way you'd tell me."

The demon blew out a stream of smoke in her direction and quirked an amused eyebrow at her confidence.

"If you say so, you are the doctor after all."

He rose to his feet and she knew that he was done all-together, for the most part she was satisfied, they didn't exactly make progress in the same way as most of her patients who came into her office willing to work with her, but the demon was a special case and progress had been made. Taking the paper, she scrawled her signature on the dotted line and handed it over to the writer, rising to her feet in the process.

"One last question before you leave, Mr. Takahashi."

The door was already open, one foot out the room, but he stopped and looked back, expressionless.

"Not having Kagome with you in your home hurts, doesn't it?"

She said, referring to the singer's several day absence; Sesshomaru said nothing in response and his demeanor did not change; lighting another cigarette he left with a small nod of the head in her direction which she returned; leaving the question answered and unanswered at the same time. Some things don't need words.

* * *

"I don't believe you."

Kagome said almost immediately, but already, she felt the heaviness and sharp pain in her heart in the face of the truth, all she had left was her denial and she clung to it like a desperate child.

"Aki wouldn't, he would never do such a thing."

She stated defiantly, but the woman across from her did not buy it for a moment.

"Unless you asked him."

The tai-youkai tried to say as gently as she could; the miko's heart skipped a beat and she gripped the fabric of her shorts, she had to hold onto something to keep her composure while her mind wrapped around her words.

"What?"

Her voice gave away more of her disbelief than her face, it was so hurt, shaky, unstable.

"Two years ago, you were the one who asked him to wipe away your memory."

She shook her head, she didn't want it to be true, there was no way, but she could tell that the demoness was not the type to lie; she had nothing to gain from it. Whatever the Dou-Hime said was the truth, plain and simple. Kagome closed her eyes to block everything out, to clear her head, but it was impossible, there was too much to take in, too many secrets to handle, thoughts swirled in her mind in a self-induced torture and made her stomach tight with knots.

Again she could feel the fragments of a memory begin to come together; again, that pain so strong she couldn't think of anything except how horrible it felt blossomed in her head. She didn't want to, she didn't want to see, but her determination for the truth forced her to look, to take the brunt of the pain, for a moment it was clear in her head, but just as quickly it began to fade.

"No!"

She cried in a panic and tried to get it back, using all of her strength to push through the pain to see, but it wasn't enough, this flash of a memory was buried deep, it didn't want to be found. Suddenly, she felt the tai-youkai's fingertips on her head, her soft touch immediately took away the pain.

"Do you want to see?"

The Dou-Hime asked in all seriousness, but there was an empathetic tone in her voice that scared more than comforted the miko; swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded.

"Y-yes."

The word had no sooner left her lips when she was swallowed up by the darkness of the tai-youkai's eyes and the memory was thrust into perfect clarity.

_At fifteen, Kagome had been living in the Higurashi main house for two consecutive years. It was torture to say the least, there was nothing worse in this world than going through puberty in a family of powerful prudes forever stuck in the old ways. She didn't mind sharing a room with the other girls, it was actually fun, the most she had in this regal prison; she may not have been very close with her fellow cousins, being the great-granddaughter of Lord Kaname and a spiritual prodigy instantly set her apart from them and they showed it._

_They were all polite bows and reserved conversation while the sun was up and dressed in their garbs, but at night when the four teenagers were alone in their room the barriers came down, they became no different than any other teen girls. Since Kagome went to a public school and was allowed free range in the outside world she would do simple favors for those who asked, she snuck in magazines, CDs, posters, clothes and even candy. What were normally worthless trinkets became priceless treasures in the hands of her fellow family, the girls openly gushed over pictures of the latest boy band or stunning actor, hid Pocky under their pillows and dabbed on glittering lip gloss when the elders weren't looking._

_Between Kagome and other people who came to the main house to visit, their room and all others became decorated shrines to pop culture and the latest fashions. They may have been the future of spiritual leadership and kept up with their family's expectations, but at that moment, in those rooms with yellow candle light they became normal teens, basking in the uncensored freedom that their peers beyond the gates took for granted. The adults were aware of their offspring's transgressions, how they worshipped their favorite stars as strongly as they worshipped the Buddha and proudly admitting their crushes when they thought no one was listening. But they did not care what the youth did so long as it did not interfere with their training or break the laws of the family; if it did, severe consequences ensued._

"_Did you hear what happened to O-Ren?"_

"_Yeah, can you believe it?"_

"_They said it had been going on for nearly a year!"_

"_Tch… I say she deserves it."_

"_True, anyone who's stupid enough to get caught should get what's coming to them!"_

"_How bad do you think her punishment is going to be?"_

"_Probably pretty bad."_

"_Is it true that Lord Kaname is going to be a part of it?"_

_Kagome walked into her room and found her three cousins sitting in the middle of their room gossiping and absently munching on their precious junk foods._

"_Hey, what's going on?"_

_Three sets of eyes snapped up to her as she slid the door closed behind her, the girls were so wrapped up in their conversation, they didn't notice her coming in._

"_Kagome you wouldn't believe it! O-Ren's on trial!"_

_The miko's eyes went wide._

"_What?!"_

_Her cousins moved over so she could sit with them and she quickly dove in; the three girls nodded rapidly as she took her seat in the open space._

"_What did she do?"_

_Like any court system, the family had their own consequences for unacceptable behavior and actions, but only severe crimes against the family laws were even taken to trial; the girl to her left leaned in and said in a quiet voice, as if this was the most intimate so secrets_

"_Well, during one of the regular room searches Tsubaki-sama found a loose floor board beneath O-Ren's futon, when she opened it she found letters."_

_Kagome knotted her eyebrows._

"_So what?"_

"_They were love letters that's what! She had been dating someone from the outside! There were times and meeting places and confessions and everything! There was even an unfinished letter by her stating the next date and location!"_

_By now her voice had risen well above a whisper in her excitement, Kagome looked down trying to process it all. She didn't know the girl in question very well, O-Ren lived a few rooms down, was quiet and several years older than her, wasn't a very strong miko, but was always focused._

"_Did you say that Lord Kaname was going to be part of the trial?"_

_They all nodded, their whole bodies jittering with teenage anticipation; if the miko's crime resulted in a trial, then her great-grandfather's presence meant that there was going to be no mercy for her._

"_I-I have to go."_

_Kagome said nervously and stalked out of the room, she felt sick, her insides twisting horribly into anxiety ridden knots and she had to get out of there, away from the shameless gossip and slander of her fellow law-breaker. She didn't think that she would ever find something in common with O-Ren, but just now she did, they were both breaking the same sacred law of the family, involved in forbidden romances. Her cousin's capture scared her out of her wits for she knew that this was foreshadowing her fate should she and Aki be caught as well. _

_She had to go see him. It wasn't quite curfew and most of her fellow family were wandering around outside, but she knew that she wouldn't find him with any of her relatives; she darted to the dense trees around the gardens, far away from where anyone would travel, knowing that he'd be there. She had sensed his weak aura in one of the trees, glanced around to make sure no one was around and leapt into it. Aki was reclined on a large branch, his back on the trunk, had a book in his hand, but was not reading it and didn't look surprised to see her popping in on him. But he didn't look happy either._

_It was common knowledge that wherever Kagami—Kagome's father—went, Kagome went and so did Aki; just as she had been living in the main house for two years, so had he. Lord Kaname was not the least bit happy about this, but his heir Kagami had taken Aki under his wing as his student and would not turn the hanyou away so the Head of the Clan was forced to grant the half-phoenix a room in which to stay, making him the only one of demon blood to ever live within the main house walls. _

_The miko and the hanyou were always seen together, there were rumors about possible flings, but were stamped out quickly; the two were the closest of friends before coming to the main house and once the rumors died people believed that their closeness was nothing more than a friendship which made for a perfect cover for them. With everyone believing there was nothing going on, they could get away with being alone together, of openly touching each other without any suspicions and even being in the other's room. Such was a luxury that no one else had and they were quick to take advantage of it._

"_Do you know about O-Ren?"_

_She asked, there was real fear in her voice; he nodded and remained quiet, Aki had his own way of showing fear, for starters: he didn't look her in the eye. And he smelled faintly of cigarettes._

"_Everybody knows; what she did and what's going to happen to her is the biggest topic on everyone's lips. They just won't shut up about it."_

_He spat, his voice shaking a little; he was angry, livid and worried which made her anxiety worsen._

"_What do you think we should do?"_

_She asked quietly so only he could hear, this question brought his eyes up to hers and looked at her like she was foolish._

"_What should we do? Are you stupid?! We do nothing! If anything we should probably keep a little distance from each other."_

_She flinched away, slightly hurt; she came here for reassurance, not to make herself feel worse. Aki saw that he went a little too far, closed his book and straightened up so she could have more room to move closer to him which she did, albeit a little hesitantly._

"_Sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that, but Kagome, what __can__ we do? We're careful enough as it is; if we were going to get caught, it would have happened already."_

_She nodded in agreement._

"_But that doesn't make this any less terrifying."_

_He grew silent again._

"_We'll be fine; just don't let it get to you, okay?"_

"_Alright."_

_She responded quietly, but didn't sound anymore confident; with a sigh Aki leaned forward and kissed her cheek lightly which brought about a furious blush from her; his touch had her womb clenching tightly and she gripped the bark tightly to ride out the intimate sensations. God, she hated puberty._

_Three days later the trial had been held in an unknown location on the Higurashi grounds, her fellow cousins made it a game to try to find out where it was, looking everywhere, but laughing and not taking it seriously. Kagome was the only one who did and once focusing on Aki's aura she found it rather quickly and waited nervously on a roof adjacent to the building where it was taking place; Lord Kaname's request for the hanyou's presence in the trial worried the miko beyond all reason. It wasn't long before the elders, dressed in their finest robes filed out of the room, the procession looked like that of a funeral: somber faces and even more somber conversation followed by the social martyr with escorts on every side of her. _

_O-Ren was a puppet doll, walking lifelessly, empty; she kept her composure though, refusing to cry, to crumble before the men and women who glared at her with contempt. The miko had the appearance of a fully mature adult, looking older than her years, but it only gave her a persona of regal standing, her hair was perfectly straight, falling immaculately down the length of her back and wore her best robes as if she belonged in them every day. She looked like a true Higurashi princess about to kneel before the sword of her executioner._

_When Aki appeared he was flanked by her father and great-grandfather and obviously not liking it; Kagami placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder while Lord Kaname gruffly barked a few unheard words and walked off, with a few kinder words to him to him her father left the hanyou alone as well. Kagome took her cue and jumped from the roof and landed a few feet away from her half-demon boyfriend, he immediately looked away, visibly angry and hurt, which made her want to comfort him as much as she could in public. Resting her hand lightly on his forearm, he only moved his head slightly in her direction, blocking the view of most of his face._

"_Aki, what happened?"_

_She asked tenderly and he shut his eyes so there was no way he would look at her; he opened and closed his mouth unsure how to make like the answer sound less than the poison it was to the ears. _

"_It was unanimous, they voted to have her memory removed."_

_The miko's eyes widened; with a gasp her hand came up to over her mouth._

"_What? But-but what did she do to receive such a severe punishment? Surely nothing she and her boyfriend did could have been that bad!"_

_Aki said nothing for the longest time, too long for her and right as she tried to say something else he opened his eyes and looked at her solemnly._

"_She didn't have a boyfriend, Kagome. She had a girlfriend."_

_For a moment she didn't believe him, but it made sense of her punishment, if there was anything that the Higurashi elite couldn't stand it was anything abnormal and homosexuality was near the top on their intolerable list… that and interspecies relationships. Like the one between humans and demons. Looking at the woman she felt a sense of pride for her, being able to maintain herself in the face of the worst of punishments and this open ridicule without words._

"_They want me to do it."_

_Her head snapped back to him and could see the tears in his eyes._

"_I'm going to be the one to erase her memory."_

_Her lips parted, but she didn't know what to say; suddenly it was too real for them, there was no doubt now that should they be discovered they would face to same fate as O-Ren, seeing all this was like looking into a future possibility and the fact that it was Aki who would rob the miko of her relationship only served to make them feel worse, if this girl was to be an example, the Higurashi did an impeccable job in scaring them. What's worse was that Aki had been present during the entire trial, she had no idea what was said behind those closed doors, but she knew from the look on his face that it was insufferable._

"_Aki I'm so—"_

"_But that's not the worst of it."_

_He cut her off and motioned behind her._

"_Look around you."_

_She closed her mouth and did just that and saw that everyone from the trial was still standing around, in fact it seemed as if they were waiting for something; the talking had ceased and everyone stood off to the side in a loose semi-circle with the guilty party standing in the center. It didn't add up, even in minor grievances once everything was said and done the guilty party was immediately taken away to be reprimanded, yet it appeared that the trial wasn't over so much as it was moved outside._

"_Do you know what the unfinished letter O-Ren was going to send out said?"_

_Kagome nodded, still confused._

"_Yeah, I heard it was the time and place for another date."_

_She had a bad feeling about this…_

"_Lord Higurashi sent it out."_

_Her head snapped back to him again, his voice was controlled now, but he was crying, he made no sounds, but a few tears rolled down the lines of his face. The reality of the situation was too much for the hanyou as he gazed at her, he could only see his miko girlfriend standing in the same position as O-Ren and himself in the position that was about to come. He sat in that room for the longest time hearing the letters read aloud with the harsh monotone voice of Tsubaki, but even with that witch reciting those words, he felt what was said in them, felt the laughter, the joy, the contentment, the love and watched as they were ripped and burned as if diseased. Ashamed and angry by his obvious show of weakness, he broke eye contact with her by dropping his head and gaze to the ground. _

_Finally it clicked in her head why he was crying, the location, the odd time of the trial, it all made sense: it was a set-up._

"_No. They wouldn't…"_

"_O-Ren!"_

_All eyes turned to a woman roughly the same age as the convicted miko running towards them; she was dressed in a flowing knee-length skirt and a figure hugging t-shirt. She was beautiful with a pixie face and short hair that bobbed up and down as she ran; even this outsider knew that something was up as she ran into the middle of the ring._

"_Sa-Sayuri?!"_

_The tone in her voice made Kagome realize that O-Ren didn't know either that her beloved was coming and the composure that the once strong woman held crumbled horribly; she fought her way to get to her girlfriend. Taking the escorts by surprise she broke free of their ranks and dashed over to her, they embraced tightly, but the miko held on for all she was worth._

"_O-Ren, what's going on?!"_

_But something in the other woman's voice made Kagome realize she must have figured it out, that they had been discovered, she knew the consequences and in an instant her grip was as tight as her priestess girlfriend._

"_I'm sorry, Sayuri! I'm so sorry!"_

_The escorts came down upon them, two grabbed Sayuri while the other two grabbed O-Ren and pulled hard to tear them apart; they refused to budge, their embrace rock solid, but they couldn't keep it up for long and suddenly a few inches of space formed between them._

"_No! Don't let me go!"_

_The short-haired woman pleaded, but the space grew even more and, while she still could, the miko reached and kissed her lips, taking everyone by surprise by the open display of affection, especially one such as this, but she didn't care any more, she was already convicted with the worst sentence given, what more did she have to lose? The woman named Sayuri was quick to adamantly return the gesture and poured a lifetime of feeling into it. But this distraction enabled the men to wrench them apart until it was only their hands locked in an iron grip; when they looked at each other, both saw each other beginning to pathetically cry._

"_Please, don't let go!"_

_She cried again, but she could already see in her girlfriend's eyes the defeat, the acceptance of her fate._

"_I'm so sorry, Sayuri."_

"_O-Ren, I—"_

_But the girl was cut short, in a burst of power, Lord Kaname dashed up to the two girls, raised his cane up and with the strength of his spiritual power brought it down on their hands; they screamed in pain and instantly let go, falling back with the men quick to grab their arms and subdue them. The head of the Higurashi turned to the two holding Sayuri and looked upon the girl in disgust._

"_Take this unclean filth and throw her out! See to it that proper measures are taken to permanently ban her from the grounds!"_

_The nodded their heads and readjusted their grips on Sayuri, roughly picked her up by her underarms and locked her in unbreakable holds; with a little effort they straightened themselves up and began to walk away. She did not go quietly, the men struggled as she kicked, jerked, and thrashed about screaming at the top of her lungs as they half dragged, half carried her and absorbing her blows with grunts and winces, but their locks did not waiver._

"_You can't do this! Get your paws off me! O-Ren! Let her go! O-Ren! O-Ren!"_

_Kagome covered her mouth tightly with both hands to keep herself from screaming as hot tears burned her eyes, this was too cruel; as she looked around her a rather large crowd had gathered from the commotion; her cousins had finally found where the trial was being held. None of them were laughing now. O-Ren had collapsed to her knees, her head bowed to the dirt as she openly sobbed and not from the pain of the strike. Kagome had been wrong, punishment had been immediately delivered to the guilty; in their first act of torture, the family forced O-Ren and Sayuri to know the pain of loss and brought her out in public so that everyone could see her as she broke. _

_Kagome gave an apologetic glance Aki's way before turning and sprinting as fast as she could, as far away as she could from this emotional execution. It was too much. Hiding in a tree on the other side of the grounds, she wrapped her hands around her knees and screamed as loudly as she could out of pain and anger and hatred._

Kagome gasped when the memory ended.

"H-How could they do that?"

She stammered as the emotions from the past welled up inside her; the forgotten pain was suddenly back with a vengeance.

"How could they?"

The demoness still had her hands framing the miko's face, eyes still connected with hers; seeing the memory in her mind as well, the Dou-Hime could only gaze sadly, unable to see, but heard the pain and anguish in this girl who became a woman too soon. The miko wrapped her arms around herself when she felt once again the fragment of another memory come together.

"Oh no—"

She was going to protest the revelation of the next secret, but it was too late as she braced herself and fell back in time, back to her forgotten past.

"_How dare you ask that of me!"_

_Aki cried to the miko, forgetting about the fragile state she was in; there were few moments when Kagome was conscious, when her eyes were those warm brown orbs and not the empty ice blue, but even though she was mentally present, the disheveled robes she was dressed in were still coated in frost, the little empty room she was in was freezing and the Sacred Jewel hanging delicately around her neck glowed a solemn, mournful blue._

"_They will wipe my memory anyway Aki, the only thing I can request is who will do the deed… and I want it to be you."_

_She reached out slowly and grabbed his hand, he flinched, it was so cold it hurt, and her grip was so weak; the miko truly was only a shadow of her former self, being in this state constantly ebbed at her strength and she was deteriorating right before his eyes._

"_That's not fair of you; it's down right cruel to say the least."_

_The girl gave his hand a squeeze in acknowledgement._

"_I know."_

_Was all she said. Judgment had already been passed for her fate by the Higurashi elite, including Kaede-bachan, their vote had been predictable, only her beloved Auntie Kaede voted against the removal of her memory. She had sat silently in the middle of the grand hall, dressed in the extravagant robes of the Jewel's purifier: multiple layers of rich silks of whites, purples, and blues adorned her like a princess, but they were just for show, the Lord Kaname requested she wear fine robes only out of symbolism of who she was. The entire Higurashi clan was present, a sea of white haoris and red and blue hakamas, even her mother and brother wore their robes; the atmosphere was as stifling as a funeral._

"_Then why?!"_

_Aki cried out in anguish, it brought tears to her eyes, with her other hand she reached out to touch his cheek, rest her hand there for comfort, but she realized that it would be too cold; his hand must be in so much pain already, why take away any more of his warmth? She let it drop to her side instead._

"_Because you are my most precious person, Aki and these memories are precious. Nobody except you deserves to touch them, nobody must know what we shared except us."_

_Taking the hand holding his with both, he radiated his heat into her until finally her hand was a healthy color unlike the pale cold that was the rest of her body and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead with desperate need._

"_I can't do it."_

_He said miserably into her soft skin; tears began to well up in her eyes._

"_You have to."_

_His gaze met hers; she saw his pain, the torture the request was putting him through, the tears forming in his eyes as well._

"_Please Kagome, don't make me do this."_

_He whispered quietly, with such anguish and that did it; hot tears spilled free, but froze before they could make it half way down her cheeks._

"_I-I'm so sorry, Aki, but I couldn't… I couldn't bear it Aki, if someone else stripped me of my memories. If you want me to beg, I'll beg… I'll do anything you ask of me."_

_The hanyou squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head; the grip on her hand tightened to the point of pain, but she did nothing to stop him. He straightened up a little and turned her hand over, palm up; the half phoenix's lips were soft as he placed an intimate kiss in the middle of her palm, spreading more warmth up her arm. She shivered at the act, knowing how wrong it was, but couldn't stop him from doing it, they both wanted it too much._

"_Tell me you love me. That is my request."_

_A new set of tears fell from her eyes._

"_I love you, Aki."_

_She said without hesitation and meant every word of it and he knew she did; in a flash he took her lips with his, soft, but urgent, desperate and she was no different in returning it. Heat spread from their lips throughout her face, he was pouring as much into her as he could and it was draining, but he did it anyway, even though he knew that moments after he stopped the cold would return again. He parted their lips for breath, but kept them close, their faces still pressed against each others._

"_Tell me again."_

_He said huskily._

"_I love you, Aki."_

_She replied immediately and his lips crashed against hers once again; he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap and repeated what he did with her hand and lips. In that moment she was warm again, her body more alive than it had been in weeks._

"_Again."_

_He demanded, it wasn't enough, it would never be enough; he could feel her tears, the beginning of her crying as her arms wrapped around him._

"_I love you, I love you, a million times I love you, Aki!"_

_It was too much too soon with this emotional overload, she could feel her consciousness fading; the miko no longer possessed the strength to control her body and her arms fell limply to her sides. The cold battled for dominance once again and they both knew that time was running out and soon she would be lost; embracing her tightly in anger and anguish he yelled into the crook of her neck._

"_Okay Kagome, okay! I'll do it!"_

_She nodded weakly in acknowledgement, closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the unconscious; she held out until she heard her answer from the half-phoenix and now was a time for rest, build up her strength for when she could awaken again. Moments later a stillness came over her; Aki squeezed his eyes shut as Kagome calmly pulled away, but he knew it wasn't Kagome who was moving her body. When he opened his eyes again, he watched her puppet like movements as she drew herself away from him and back to her place, kneeling, hands resting on her thighs with those endless blue orbs staring forward at nothing. The hanyou bowed his head in defeat and nodded._

"_I'll do it."_

"No! No! No! No!"

Kagome cried in agony when the demoness drew her fingers away, bringing her back to the present; shutting her eyes tightly, the miko gripped her head and hunched her back, bowing her head low and moaning in agony. She sobbed loudly, uncaring of her hostess' presence and rocked back and forth like a helpless child.

"I'm sorry, Miss. Higurashi."

The demoness said as she wrapped her arms around the miko and pulled her into the warmth of her breast like Kagome was her daughter and held her there, tenderly, comforting. The singer smothered her face shamelessly into the Dou-Hime's kimono and cried into the immaculate silk; the demoness stroked her hair with such care, feeling the pain radiating off her.

"I'm so sorry."

She comforted her like the mother who couldn't be there, let her cry until there was nothing left and continued to hold her for long after.

"I'll grant you the choice that I couldn't give Aki…"

The demoness said after a while to break the silence; the two finally pulled away from each other, tears dried up, nothing left but red cheeks and puffy eyes.

"… would you like me to give you a night's rest without suffering?"

Even though the Dou-Hime was blind, she didn't want to look up from the ground as if even a sightless tai-youkai could see the pain and shame on her face. She thought about her request and seriously contemplated allowing herself a forced, but peaceful sleep; it sounded nice, ideal in fact. Too much was going through her mind to sleep well or even at all and this could be the last unhindered sleep for a very long time.

"Thank you Dou-Hime, but no. If I'm going to get my full memory back I have to endure, I can't let myself be crippled by two unhappy memories if I am to take on even worse."

The demoness smiled and nodded in response, quite proud of the girl for her choice.

"I wish your father was still alive to see how strong you've already become."

She gave a humorless laugh.

"Yeah, and see how far I've strayed from the path."

The Dou-Hime blinked a few times.

"Are you speaking of your relationship with the dog lord's son?"

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"You know about Sesshomaru and me?"

There was a slight chuckle coming from the elder woman.

"Aki informed me."

The miko spared a glance at the sleeping hanyou and made a face.

"I suppose he would, wouldn't he?"

"Don't be so quick to condemn Miss. Higurashi, especially after what you just saw."

The miko fell silent and looked at Aki again; the little fling she thought she had with the hanyou had been another cover-up, another lie; two years ago she and her best friend seemed to care about each other much more than she ever thought was possible. Kagome told the half-phoenix she loved him and _meant_ it, she could tell the much by the lingering sensations of the memory and… apparently he felt the same way. She had forgotten those feelings, but he didn't. A thought dawned on her that had her mind racing once again.

"D-Dou-Hime, does Aki…"

She couldn't find the right words.

"… does he still care for me?"

The question felt awkward and scary at the same time, she feared the answer.

"He does."

The elder said easily and with no doubt and all she could do in response was sit numbly, stupidly; quite the shock suddenly finding out her best-friend loved her all this time and never said a word and apparently, she had loved him too… she could feel the headache coming already. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she slowed down her racing heart and began to feel the forgotten memories begin to mold and fit back into place within her mind. Two down, who knows how many left to go. After a while she opened her eyes again and saw that the demoness was still sitting before her, that gaze staring forward at nothing, but she knew that the Dou-Hime was waiting for some kind of acknowledgement from her.

"Thank you for you comfort."

She said in a very controlled voice and that brought a little smile from the demon woman.

"You are strong Miss. Higurashi, it is only a matter of realizing for yourself the true strength that you possess."

Before the miko could properly respond, the demoness rose to her feet and did so in a very graceful and tai-youkai fashion as if her age was little more than a passing phase.

"There is a spare room down the hall, you're free to use it."

She said as the priestess rose after her and gazed quizzically, like a child not sure what to do.

"Can I help you to your room?"

She offered and the Dou-Hime smiled and shook her head as she took elegant steps towards to hall.

"I may be old and blind, young priestess, but I still know how to take care of myself. The day I am unable to do the simplest tasks is the day I will lay down and join my ancestors."

She said it with ease and certainty, knowing that there truly was nothing left tying her to this world, that the deterioration of her body would only come about with the deterioration of her mind. Demons had the luxury of being only being as old as they felt, but she was merely humoring herself; her only regret was not finding an opponent sword's strong enough to die by, they were all too weak and the last thing she wanted was some undeserving demon brat—like the dog lord in his youthful years—end and carry a legend as big as hers.

"You may not be able to sleep well tonight, but you must try. Don't fret, everything that can be taken care of now can be taken care of in the morning as well."

The tai-youkai sensed that the miko had not moved from where she stood, but after her comment she heard the rustling of Kagome's clothes as she walked; without saying any more she proceeded down to the very end of the hall and disappeared behind a shoji door. The miko walked less confidently, less elegantly, (she lacked the natural grace her sister possessed) found the spare room and looked around, it had more than the usual furnishings: shelves full of books, desk, extra futon and blankets. Seeing this she walked over and grabbed a thick blanket and pillow and walked unhurriedly back to the hall where the dead-to-the-world hanyou slept; covering his body and gently tucked the pillow under his head the miko gazed at her lifetime friend who hadn't always been just her friend.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She asked knowing there wouldn't be answer, but hopefully somewhere in his sleeping sub-conscious he had received her message. Then again, if the hanyou had revealed to her how deeply involved they were with each other, would she have believed him? Probably not; aside from being shown the way she was, the miko never would have accepted it. Seeing him the way he was now, so peaceful and calm, a small part of her wanted to reach beneath the blanket and hold his hand. She didn't. She couldn't. The act felt wrong.

"What kind of a mess did we get ourselves in, Aki?"

Kagome said with a rueful smile which quickly turned to a yawn she couldn't stifle, her encounter with the past had drained her more than she thought; without thinking, the miko laid down on the hanyou's torso padded by the blanket and closed her eyes. She felt his warmth and heard the beat of his heart through its thickness and it brought such an unfamiliar calm to her and she knew that so long as her friend was by her side, she could accept whatever memories would come. The thought no sooner dawned on her mind than she drifted into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Aki opened his eyes to bright sunrays glaring in them and made a move to cover his eyes with his hand when he found that he couldn't, his arm was stuck by a soft weight. Lifting his head up and looking down his heart quickened at the sight of a certain miko sleeping on him, er… on the blanket that was on him, but it did not escape his train of thought that had this blanket not been there Kagome may have been sleeping directly on his chest, he may have been able to feel her skin, her heat…_ 'No.'_ He said mentally, he had to stop himself and quick, the hanyou didn't know how they ended up like this, but it was dangerous for him. Turning his head this way and that, he scanned the area as if something within reach could extract himself from the makeshift bed without waking her up.

"It's okay, Aki. I'll get up."

His movement had already roused her and with drowsy limbs she pushed herself up off his torso and freed him; it didn't escape her notice (and never would again) at the slight impression of loss from him as she moved away. He knew she caught it, so to save face, he lowered his eyes and nodded. The hanyou quietly rose up and gathered the blanket and pillow; without thinking, she followed, there were no sounds coming from anywhere in the house and judging by the rise of the sun it was still early in the morning. They went to the spare room she didn't use and he carefully folded the blanket and placed the items back in their corner; she furrowed her eyebrows and was about to ask how he knew they came from this room, but then she remembered that much of his childhood had been spent here. And there were more pressing matters to attend; licking her dry lips, she opened her mouth.

"I'm sorry I asked you to make me forget, Aki. I know how much it hurt."

She said quickly and quietly behind him and mentally kicked herself; that could have come out better, but she never was one for making matters simple or smooth. The hanyou's form snapped still and remained that way for several agonizing moments until he turned around and he was seething.

"_She told you?!"_

His snarl made her a little agitated and she furrowed her eyebrows; great, now she had to defend the Dou-Hime.

"Yes, but I didn't believe her when she told me!"

She said it louder than she expected which and him almost taking a step back; she licked her lips again and finished her thought, but this time rather quietly.

"I remembered it."

The anger dissipated in a moment, it hurt her to see how his face fell and again, he looked away from her.

"What else did you remember?"

The miko bit her lower lip at the small stab of pain recalling last night's events.

"I remember everything that happened to O-Ren and the day I asked you to take my memories away."

The mention of O-Ren's name had him stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I remembered you agreed and, according to the Dou-Hime, you went through with my request."

"And did a lousy job of it too."

Came a voice from behind, the two jumped at the sound and found the elder demoness standing in the open doorway, fully dressed in a fine black and white kimono.

"I have a rule in my home: no negative talk before breakfast. No sense in losing your appetite this early in the morning. Come, you can help Chidori prepare it."

She beckoned them with an elegant motion of her hand and they followed silently, desperate to get undesirable thoughts out of their heads; down another hall they came upon the kitchen and dining area, well maintained and well used. Aki's sister was wandering around, pulling pots out of cabinets with one hand while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with the other.

"Dou-Hime…"

The phoenix-girl whined, not caring about the presence of the other two.

"… why are we up so early?"

The elder snickered and brushed off Chidori's complaints.

"The moment our guests are up, so are we, my dear apprentice."

"But Onii-sama is such an early bird—"

A swat from a large wooden on her nose cut her off; the demoness didn't hit her hard, but it was enough to stifle whatever the girl had left to say.

"That's enough, child. Now, have our guests help you with breakfast."

The tai-youkai felt around for the hook the spoon had hung from, found it and placed it back.

"I'll be in by the pond if you need me."

She stated simply and left the three to look around at each other in an uncomfortable silence before splitting off to prepare separate foods. Chidori made sure to assign herself the easy jobs: pouring the rice into the cooker and setting the edamame (soy beans) to boil possibly out of spite as she watched her brother carefully grill the fish and Kagome cut up fruit and mix them in a bowl.

"How's Mama?"

The girl asked meekly after her brother had finished with his preparations; he didn't look up as he set the fish on separate plates.

"Wouldn't know."

He finally said and looked like he would not say anymore on the matter, but she was persistent, knew how to push his buttons and did it purposely.

"You haven't seen her _once_ since you left home?"

Taking a deep breath, the hanyou closed his eyes to resist letting out a growl.

"Saw her in passing a few times."

He admitted, not knowing that he had opened a gateway to a very unpleasant conversation until it was too late; looking back he saw the life come to her eyes as the last of her exhaustion faded away, she tried not to look interested by immediately folding her arms and leaning back on the counter, but she failed miserably, the curiosity bundled up inside her was betrayed by her eyes.

"So you know how she been doing."

She stated matter-of-factly and he rolled his eyes and resisted a groan; Aki turned his back on his sister to give Kagome a "please-help-me" look, but she threw up her hands, not wanting to get involved in a soon-to-be sibling scuffle. Seeing that she wasn't going to save him, he turned back and gave her the best impression of calm, didn't work out so well.

"Okaa-san is fine, Chidori! Okay? In fact she's so fine she doesn't even need to see us anymore."

The girl, like last night, tried pleading with him.

"I-It's not Mama's fault she's like that, you know that Aki, It's because Papa—"

"Don't!"

She flinched at the sharpness of his voice and the deep seated anger behind it.

"Don't you _dare_ call him that! He is _not_ our father and never will be!"

Aki was about to say more

"Breakfast is ready!"

Kagome called out loudly and broke the tension between the two siblings, if only for a moment; she gave a little glare at them before leaving to fetch the Dou-Hime. Opening the shoji door to the garden she found the demoness sitting on a low stone bench, inclining her ears towards the little waterfall that fed into the pond, tossing bread crumbs onto the pond's surface and hearing the koi break the surface, opening their wide mouths and swallowing up the food.

"Breakfast is ready."

The miko repeated again, this time more quietly and the elder turned to face her and stood up.

"Thank you, Miss. Higurashi."

Again, the girl watched as the blind demoness glided along the path without ever once straying or faltering in her steps; as they neared the kitchen her dull human ears picked up the broken sounds of an argument. The Dou-Hime sighed.

"The relationship between siblings is truly the oddest one indeed; never in any other is there more love, devotion, jealousy, and bickering."

* * *

Kikyo knew Kagome's demon was still alive, after the fire had burned the castle to cinders and the captives set free, she was among the recovery team to search for survivors, but there was no one left; the Onigumo had fled and all the people held inside had made it to safety. She searched for traces of the demon's remains, but found none around the area where she sensed the residual effects of the Tama's power and even spread out from there, but nothing to show of his demise, she knew he had been there, she picked up the lingering trace of his aura. She closed her eyes and rode out the wave of frustration, her little sister had become more resilient to the Jewel's influence, she would have to wait, take her time and plan accordingly. Kikyo's stunt with the Sacred Jewel was little more than a crime of opportunity which did not succeed, she had to be patient, trust in her abilities and come up with another plan, or wait for Kagome to mess up again and leave her open.

"Kikyo-sama, is everything in order?"

A young priest asked timidly, she opened her eyes, took her hand away from where it hovered over the ashen ground and flicked her eyes up to meet his. The miko could tell he had to force himself not to flinch and immediately avert his eyes which made her chuckle inwardly at his fear of her, honestly, was she truly that frightening of a person?

"Yes, let's head back and report what we've found; once we have permission from Kaname-dono we'll come back with more spiritualists to cleanse this place."

Her team had gathered around her and they filed out empty-handed with Kikyo in the lead, the hem of her red hakamas turned grey by the ash, but nothing else. Her subordinates were a mess and they were sheepish to attract her attention for fear of her disapproval which came in a single, expressionless glance back at them; she wouldn't blame them too much, they hadn't completed their training so even learned skills were still done sloppily. The master priestess turned her head back around and continued to walk across the grounds covered in grey snow made of ash and willed more than kicked the ash out of her way and it complied.

Kikyo contemplated telling the Head about her sister's new romance, but once bowed before the malicious elder surrounded by his omni-present cantankerous offspring she knew better than to reveal such a detail now, especially since Kagome had unofficially renounced her position as a miko in the Higurashi family making her no longer bound to the family laws. That was "unofficially", unfortunately for her, once a Higurashi miko, always a Higurashi miko. There would be no literal divorcing of her family and status.

"What did you and your team discover, Head Miko Kikyo?"

The woman blinked at the way she was addressed, she never really liked her title, it sounded too stuffy; raising her head off the floor she met her great-grandfather's eye and refused to look away which amused the old man since few of his children could even do that.

"Not much my lord, there was no physical evidence left from the fire and no human remains…"

She wasn't surprised that he didn't look in the least bit interested by this information.

"… however, there is evidence that one of the Onigumo had been injured in the fight, the imprinted effects by the Shikon no Tama's power proved this. Another demon, unknown to us, had also been injured due to the Tama's use, but did not die."

Lord Kaname seemed a little disappointed, but just as intrigued.

"Injured, but not dead?"

He repeated with too much bemusement for the miko's liking as her glanced around at his aging children for acknowledgement.

"Hn… it would appear that our runaway girl is beginning to realize her talents."

Everyone knew he meant the control over the Jewel, if that was the case, then Kagome was eventually going to be brought back into her life of a full-fledged Higurashi miko, whether she wanted to or not. The possibility was too much to pass up for the old man as his mind reeled with a new set of plans for his wayward great-granddaughter.

"Perhaps there is hope for her yet to rejoin us and be properly trained. If she only attacked and injured demons, then that means that her heart has not strayed from the right path, the only trouble is that stubborn attitude and lack of respect of hers, but I'm sure Tsubaki can be of service there."

The lord turned to his eldest daughter and she gave such a smile that made her father proud.

"I nearly broke her once, I can do so again, Otou-sama."

In that moment it became harder for the miko to keep silent about her imoto's secret and she didn't know why she even bothered; what or who was she protecting with her silence? She was unaware that she was clenching her fist slightly until she felt the pain from her nails digging into her skin, it couldn't be helped, she felt as if she had to physically restrain herself to keep the scandal her sibling had caused in. A great relief washed over her that no one could see as she was dismissed and the elders went about their useless banter; while closing the shoji door behind her Kikyo came to the conclusion that she was saving her sister from suffering at the hands of the old and ignorant so she could deliver the blow personally.

But even as she sensed the contentment from that… she knew she was wrong.

* * *

"I believe this is what you came here for."

The Dou-Hime returned from the storeroom to Kagome and Aki who were waiting anxiously in the training room where they met last night; in her hands was a simple black lacquer box the length of the hanyou's large hand and the width of the small miko's. There was no lock or complicated set of patterns needed to get the box open, just a thin, slide-off piece of wood for a lid. The demoness set the box on the table next to the cookies, the act seemed so wrong it was almost sacrilegious, an insult to the sanctity of the sweet treats, but she forgave the blind tai-youkai because, at the moment, cookies were not the most important subject.

The miko didn't want to pick it up, its black coloring acting as an almost tangible omen, the very presence of it was unnerving, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and reached her hands out. They were shaking slightly, fearing what even a touch would do to her, but upon looking over at her hanyou companion, she knew by his expression that she was overreacting. She grasped the cool wood and pulled the box towards her, it was light and, had it not been for the slight rattling coming from the inside, she would have thought it was empty. Kagome froze at the sound, her mind reeling with what could be inside, but she quickly realized her actions and set the box on her lap; it's lack of physical weight made up for in mental.

"Do you remember seeing this box, Miss. Higurashi?"

The demoness asked expressionlessly; the young woman spared a glance down at the object once as if one more look would jog her memory, but she shook her head.

"No."

"Makes sense…"

The tai-youkai said easily.

"… you don't remember me or anything about what happened here when you first delivered this box to me because I erased your memories, not Aki, of everything that had to do with this place. Upon your request of course."

The Dou-Hime felt she needed to add that last piece of information as well as an explanation because she knew, even without her sight, that the priestess was still confused as to why her memories were kept here in the first place.

"As I said last night, the two of you came to me and asked quite an unusual request that, even as dear as Aki was to me, I would have refused. I will tell you this young miko: you were a _very_ different person the first time we met, the only reason I agreed to keep that box hidden here was the agony that I felt from you. In a very short time you had lost everything that was precious to you, knowing that, I couldn't possibly turn you away."

Lost everything? What did she mean? There was nothing missing in her life that she could recall except… _'Otou-sama…'_ she resisted the urge to say anything out loud; she didn't want to stir anything up, not yet. It couldn't be coincidence that around the same time her memory became faulty was around the time of her father's death… but it had been an accident. A twinge in the back of her mind told her immediately that that was wrong, if it had been an accident, then why couldn't she remember? The miko felt a wave of sickness come over her… her father's demise had been no accident, something horrible had happened, so horrible that her memory was erased for it.

"I-If my memories are in this box then why am I having these flashbacks?"

She had to step away from that dark place, she couldn't go there yet… she wasn't ready to and she had to get her mind away from it quick, lest she remember something else. At this question the demoness cracked a small smile.

"Because as skilled as Aki is, even he is still my apprentice; he is barely twenty now and to take on the task of removing real memories and implanting false ones back then was an arduous one indeed. Those relapses in memories you've been having all this time are holes that he didn't quite fill, whether purposely…"

The suggestion in her voice was far too great to go unnoticed.

"… or accidentally."

At this, Aki lowered his eyes and Kagome knew then that it was an accident; all this time he had never meant for her to remember, but he didn't possess the ability to fully remove and replace everything little thing, her relapses were proof of his failure, his weakness. She had imagined that what he put her through was mental triage: take care of the worst and the biggest and hope for the best with the small things.

"They are a good thing in this case, if you wish to remember your whole past, then you need those holes to help ease your mind back into accepting all those memories. Had you come to me, you would have lived the rest of your life without even a nagging feeling about your lost memory; someone could have told you the whole story and it wouldn't spark a thing."

Such information made her shiver a little because she knew without a doubt that it was true; doe eyes flickered down at the box that contained all the answers she needed. It held the truth, but, from what she had experienced already, the truth was not going to be as easy to accept as the two memories from last night.

"Can I open it?"

She asked, but instead of looking at the demoness, her eyes met Aki's; licking his dry lips he gave a single, stiff nod which she returned in acknowledgement and allowed her fingers to pull the lid out of its slot. The wood wasn't glued shut, but it got stuck a few times from not being touched in two years; as the wood sheet came off the miko furrowed her eyebrows at the box's contents.

"A sakura tree branch?"

She asked as she picked the small branch up by its base, but even as she said it, she knew that it was no ordinary branch; the blossoms and leaves, even the wood looked like it had been freshly picked and her nose caught the faint sweetness from the flowers.

"The memories had to be stored in a living thing."

Aki started as a way of explanation.

"Those who have our gift usually use sakura branches because of their adaptively to… abnormal effects; the reason why it still looks fresh is your memories, they're keeping it alive."

A new weight fell upon the branch in a moment as she stared at the innocent looking thing, twirling it around with her index and thumb.

"What would happen to my memories if something happened to this branch?"

She asked, a slight fear rising up inside her as if her mention would give the hanyou any ideas, but again, he wouldn't meet her eye.

"Nothing physical can be done to the branch because you can't physically destroy memories."

Something in the tone of his voice gave her the impression that he wished he could.

* * *

A knock came at the Sesshomaru's door; he ignored it even after the knocking persisted and hardly took notice when it stopped, however, what he heard next could not be ignored.

"Sesshomaru darling!"

"Puppy face!"

"Puppy face? Hn… never thought to call him that before."

"Come on out, lover!"

"We know you're in there!"

"Pretty please?"

Great, just what he needed… the Exs. Swiveling his chair around in the direction of the door he rose up, left his office and, very regrettably, opened the door; the demon guards he had recently hired kept out the prying eyes of the public and their cameras, but unfortunately they were not skilled enough to ward off three very determined demonesses in all their hyper-sexual glory. Their faces lit up like children on Christmas morning when he stood before them and filed elegantly inside his home like they belonged there.

"We knew you couldn't say no to us, darling."

Hissed Hana of the Hebi (Serpent) Clan, green scales framed the edge of her face, upper arms and thighs while her yellow slit eyes darted up and down his form, her hand casually passing across his chest; he didn't knock it away, merely watching with cool eyes of his own until she finished her scan.

"I didn't say anything."

Was his eventual response and Tsume let out a quiet laugh; she was wasn't particularly tall, in fact, for a demoness, she was quite short, but out of all the youkai in the room she was the oldest, nearly two hundreds years older than her former demon lover. It always kept her interested that this young demon before her was much older than his years, not even a century old and he had already closed and hardened his heart from the rest of the world, and that look he gave her… as a Bird of Paradise she grew up believing that to strike fear meant putting on a scary face, he proved her wrong. The casualty of meeting his eye brought fear to many of her fellow Birds and this ability excited her.

"Sometimes not saying anything is saying something, oh great son of Inu-Taisho."

She teased him with his father's name, but he gave no reaction to her and she wasn't surprised by this as she stepped down for the youkai next to her to say her piece. The last demoness was the youngest of the females, only older than Sesshomaru by a decade, Yuiko was literally a sex-kitten, as a neko (cat) youkai she used her unique features as her money maker. The ever-desirable cat ears and tail came standard with her upon her birth and at fifty thousand yen a month per customer she went live via web-cam on her porn site, taking requests and performing whatever sex act was sent in through the live chat. A human with clip-on ears and belt-tail didn't cut it for people anymore, now that the cat was out of the bag—all puns intended—they paid big bucks for the real thing.

"What's with the long look, puppy face, aren't you glad to see us? On my show customers have to pay extra for guest appearances, yet you get to see all three of us for free. Now, isn't that worth a smile?"

The tips of her index claw traced little circles around his stomach, for such an innocent face she was most likely the least innocent of them all with her tight, blood red dress that pushed her cleavage out and barely covered her behind.

"I thought I was clear with all of you: don't come or call unless I do so first."

The neko gave a classic porn star pout.

"But it's been over _six months _and you haven't given any girl a call and now all this talk about you having a human boy as your lover has got us all worried."

"Or jealous."

He said with a smirk, he had never gone public with any relationship he ever had even though it was obvious that they existed; Kagome's presence was a threat and insult to their pride that he no longer needed them the get his kicks, that he chose a boy, human above all else, for a partner to have by his side. The lot they knew.

"Regardless of our feelings about your current situation…"

Tsume said, in no way denying his statement.

"… you have a fat phonebook filled with numbers that will eventually come to you like we did. We came as a warning and to find out if you're going sever your relations with us."

"I am."

He said without hesitation, all those nameless faces and exotic figures blurred into each other, they were all the same and they all bored him, he had meant to just toss them aside anyway, but these demonesses coming here made that process both much simpler and harder.

"Now do me a favor and pass this information along to any other who has ideas of coming here."

Hana gave out a laugh that melted into a hiss.

"We will do no such thing; lay in your own bed from now on Sesshomaru, because we won't do it for you."

Yet he knew the moment that they left his home Hana and Yuiko would be the little social butterflies that they were and seethe to everyone who would listen about his choice; Tsume had more class than that, her only loss in this situation was a discrete occasional lover who fit her type, she had more. He wasn't the only one who kept a dirty little phonebook.

"You don't think we could have one more party, puppy face, we're all here after all. It'll be fun, like one last romp before we say goodbye forever."

She purred while pressing herself up against him, her heat radiating on his thigh while her hands moved expertly along the lines of his body; the serpent woman was suddenly latched onto the other side of his body, the same look the was in the neko's was in hers.

"Perhaps that's not such a bad idea. I can do that thing with my tongue that you liked."

Her slit eyes became even narrower at the mention; she drew in closer and breathed in his scent which made her pause, confusion quickly replacing lust as she pressed her nose against his body and breathed deeper.

"You smell different."

She stated, the feline, upon hearing this, dragged a whiff of her own and furrowed her eyebrows.

"You do."

The demoness deduced as well.

"You don't smell sexy anymore, puppy face. What's going on?"

The two didn't understand, they were too young and never learned about their true nature, but Tsume did, her eyes came alive in shock and fascination, when Sesshomaru saw this, he shoved them away. A knowing smile slowly curled the Bird woman's lips up and a dangerous look met hers, the little stand-off passed unnoticed by the snake and feline as they delegated to themselves the cause of the writer's loss of alluring scent.

"This little tryst is over. Get the hell out of my house."

"Aw, already?"

"Did we say something wrong?"

He growled, tempted to bare his teeth at them, but at the sound, Yuiko and Hana flinched away, quickly gathered themselves and left, albeit a little huffy that their libidos were cut down so suddenly, they weren't used to rejection.

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me!"

The neko cried right before the door shut, leaving Tsume who mockingly stayed right where she was until they two bimbos had gone; after a moment of separation the demoness sauntered up to him and took a deep breath in for herself, but unlike the two before, her way of doing so had a level of sensuality and class to it. After allowing a moment for the scents to process in her mind her eyebrows twitched up.

"Yep, you smell like a human alright. Who would've thought, you and that ningen (human) boy… your father must be proud."

At this, Sesshomaru let out a snarl, seized her roughly by her hair and dragged her face close to his; after passing his eyes around her features once he forced the distance between them to close as he crashed his lips against hers; he moved his lips and tongue in the same way as he did before with her, an action that she ardently returned, their hands caressed and grabbed at each other with desperate movements. When they pulled away the demon was even more frustrated than before and Tsume let out a shrill laugh, a classic Bird of Paradise trait.

"You felt nothing, didn't you? You can't get off by us anymore; it's because of your bond with your human."

She laughed again and pulled away so she could look at him; this time he bared his fangs. Sure, the kiss had been a test for him; the result was what he expected, but not what he had been hoping for which pissed him off to no end.

"Your body will only respond to his now; your entire chemistry has changed so that other females won't find your scent attractive."

Her laughter calmed down to a slight chuckle as she studied him with enchanted eyes.

"So tell me, Sesshomaru, how does it feel having human blood flow through your veins?"

Her claws traced his body, not sensual, but as if he were a piece of art, an experiment in progress; to maintain composure and standing with this demoness he said nothing.

"What about the Kizuna (Bond)? To be so intimately linked to someone… what's it like?"

Looking down at her, he knew that she was half-mocking, half-serious, as old as she was Tsume had never mated, her only impressions of what the Kizuna meant came from what she had been told and observed.

"Annoying."

He confessed, she didn't know he was serious.

"This information is not to be shared."

At this, the demoness waved the matter off.

"Your mate is for you to reveal on your own, it's none of my business. I don't keep secrets, but I can choose to withdraw information."

That was a mild relief; he knew she wasn't lying for such an act was below youkai of their standard; with a smile and peck on his cheek she turned and left.

"Good luck with your life. I'll catch you two at a gathering sometime and who knows, maybe I'll have a mate of my own by then."

Tsume gave a wink before closing the door and Sesshomaru huffed.

"Unlikely."

Was all he said as he went to shower, the heavy scents of the demonesses sunk into his clothes and made him grimace.

* * *

"You like my self-portraits?"

Kagome jumped at the sound of the Dou-Hime's voice coming from behind her; she turned away from the war painting to the elder youkai.

"Ho-How did you know I was looking at your paintings?"

The shock in her voice caused that small smile to widen.

"What else would you be doing standing in my hallway?"

The miko lowered her eyes.

"Sorry."

The demoness patted her arm.

"Don't be sorry, but you didn't answer my question: do you like my self-portraits?"

The girl's eyes narrowed as she looked at the painting again, a battle scene of demons against demons, a black and white dragon above, almost observing, completely dominating. Did the Dou-Hime confuse this painting for another one? Being blind, someone could have pulled a switch and she never would have known.

"Ah… I think you may have the paintings confused. I was looking at this war scene; I don't see any pictures of you."

At this, the tai-youkai laughed.

"Of course you do dear, all these pictures are of me; it's more sentimental than vanity that I still keep these old things, even though I can't look at them anymore. This one…"

She touched the frame.

"… was when I won the plain lands of the East from the Kitsune."

Kagome, even while staring, had forgotten about this elder's bloody and tyrannical past; she looked at the image again, scanning the soldiers, trying to spot the little figure that was supposed to represent the Dou-Hime, but she spotted no such thing.

"I can't find you."

She said after a few moments of searching and a white eyebrow went up.

"I'm a little hard to miss."

Reaching out again she felt around the frame to the middle of the top and dropped down to the painting, her index finger resting on a very specific head.

"There. That's me."

Again, Kagome felt like the Dou-Hime was mistaken; after all, her finger was resting in the center of the great dragon's head, its claws and fangs out, frozen in a silent battle cry while fierce black eyes stared out directly forward… as if they were peering through the miko's very being. She opened her mouth to tell the demoness otherwise when she paused, looking at the dragon and then the Dou-Hime and back again; there was a strange similarity to them that she didn't see before. Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"You're a—"

"Yes."

"But aren't you supposed to be—"

"Extinct?"

"Yeah."

"So are the phoenixes, but Aki and Chidori are as real as you are."

"Then why—"

"People tend to think things no longer exist when they stop seeing them on a regular basis."

Kagome's eyes fell to the ground for a second time.

"So, what happened?"

She finally spoke and the tai-youkai furrowed her eyebrows.

"Excuse me?"

"You used to be this fearsome ruler of an expanding empire, but at the height of your campaign you surrendered everything and fell off the map. So, what happened?"

Her eyes suddenly because rather sad and she turned away, her hand falling away from the painting as she did so.

"Well, if you wish to know we'll have to sit for this story."

She called back as she began walking.

"Fine by me."

Kagome said, trying to control her excitement as she eagerly followed the tall woman; the Dou-Hime led her past the room where the two siblings had made up and were talking ardently about the adventures of their respective lives whenever then had a moment to interject between the other's story, so absorbed they didn't notice the two pass by the open door. She led them back out to the gardens and sat down at the same bench by the pond; with a slight sigh the demoness parted her lips and her melodious voice rang a story of tragedy.

"I suppose there's no better place to start than the very beginning…over a thousand years ago I was a young woman and just came of mating age, as the female heir to the Southern lands it was expected of me to mate and marry and have my husband rule in my stead, but I knew that at that time no man could run my empire better than me. In a twist of fate my parents died before an arranged marriage was ever made, my wish was granted, as their only child I became the new Lady of the South unmarried. Finding a partner was the last thing on my mind, I came into the position with a chip on my shoulder and much to prove to my parents' advisors who were now mine and I showed my strength to command out there on the battlefield."

There was a rueful smile on her lips.

"I grew stronger in those fields, shed my old life and old name; I left as a determined princess and came back as an arrogant warlord. I changed my name and took control of my position, effectively assassinating all my rival relatives fighting for my seat with my own hands. My country prospered and grew and for hundreds of years it was that way until I met Hisayuki, my mate; he became my newest general after the one he served under was killed in battle. From the moment we met I knew he was different; he didn't treat me like the others did, he wasn't scared of me, wasn't afraid to voice his opinion during meetings and openly disobeyed my orders to follow his own. I would have killed him if I didn't need him."

That made the miko smile, but knowing that, even in that joking manner, she was serious.

"Of course he never forgot his place or mine, but he refused to bend over for me and that caught my interest until he openly started courting me. At first I thought he was after my seat, that he felt he could rule better than me, but I was wrong; he was genuinely courting the woman hidden under all that blood and armor. We became mates, forever tied to each other by the Kizuna, but we never married; that was the agreement and he had no qualms with it, through the Kizuna I found out that all he wanted was to make me happy, to fight by my side. I had never had someone care for my in that way before and that made me happier than anything else, so with my mate by my side, we set out on a new campaign: to expand our borders. During the years of preparation I became pregnant."

A slightly wrinkled hand rested on her lower abdomen where the child once grew and lingered there for a moment.

"I went into battle heavy with child because nothing could keep me away, not even the possibility of miscarrying due to stress or injury; I gave birth on the eve of another battle, nursed my son and went off to fight with my mate at sunrise. Yuuzuki grew up used to having his parents leave often for war, he grew up to be a fine demon, a splendid heir; when he was old enough he joined his father and I on the battleground and excelled. We were so proud and so confident of our abilities that we decided to make a bold move: divide the army and attack two different locations. Yuuzuki and I went and fought the Kitsune of the East while Hisayuki went against the Inu of the West. It was our first battle apart since we became mates."

The hand that had pressed against her abdomen now went up and clutched the kimono over heart.

"I knew before they brought his body back that he had been slain, part of me died that night and for the longest time I was inconsolable; it is… painful to lose a mate, especially after sharing the Kizuna."

Kagome reached up and touched the crescent scar above her collarbone, Sesshomaru's claim on her; as she gazed upon the old demoness she knew that the loss of her mate was still painful, even now. Was the Bond truly that strong? If she were to die now, would Sesshomaru be as hurt as the demoness was?

"It was my son who pulled me out of that dark place; before, the only emotion I ever showed, the only time I was alive was in battle as I destroyed my opponents. Yuuzuki wouldn't let such a strong woman, especially his mother and ruler, be crippled when my armies and my people needed a leader; so, it was my son now who fought by my side and became a better man. We were victorious, gaining land from the East and I got my revenge on the West and crippled them; the only battle that was truly left for us was against the Dragons of the South's bitter enemy: the Phoenixes of the North."

The miko's eyes went wide, bitter enemy? She looked over at the tai-youkai's house where two half-phoenixes were relaxing inside and not just any two, but this dragon's apprentices.

"We fought for days non-stop, it was endless, the sun and moon rose and fell so many times that they began to blur together to me, in fact, everything began to blur. My vision was starting to fail, but not enough that I couldn't see in the distance the Lord of the North strike down my precious Yuuzuki. At that moment, nothing mattered anymore, my pride, the battle, the dying army, nothing; my son was gone and I let it happen. Of course I only blamed myself after I tortured the Lord of the North to death, but even revenge didn't bring me the satisfaction that I wanted. My son was still dead, my mate was long since passed as well; all my power, the expanded country, the bounty wasn't worth it when my two most precious persons were in the ground because of it."

Kagome was now able to fully understand why the Dou-Hime chose to keep her memories here; she had lost her father, one of her precious persons, no doubt that when they first met the demoness sensed herself reflected in the miko's situation. The demoness in her darkest hour had no one to turn to for comfort and she didn't want to bring about that same feeling of loneliness upon another person.

"It was ironic that around this time your family, among others rose to the height of their power and took the land back from the demons; when your ancestor came to my home with a declaration of war you should have seen the look on her face when I surrendered all my land and power without a fight or a care. I kept this small parcel of land where my Hisayuki and Yuuzuki are buried and faded into a legend; my vision deteriorated over the years because of the abuse of my power, but I don't need my sight to see anymore."

The Dou-Hime looked directly up at the sun, but did not blink or squint, even the great fiery star couldn't penetrate her darkness, instead, she let the sun warm her face and smile.

"I have done what I could over the years to atone for my past actions, gave up my land, my fortune, my title, even took in two phoenix children to train. I just hope that's enough so when my time comes I have earned my right to be with my mate and son again."

Kagome realized she couldn't do it, she couldn't watch all the people who mattered to her die and continue living; it would be too much. She froze.

"That's it."

She said quietly and the tai-youkai looked back down and furrowed he eyebrows.

"What's it?"

But the miko didn't respond; she had to go to Aki while the epiphany was still fresh and before she got too scared to find out the answer. Dashing back into the house she followed the voices back to the room she passed by and found the half-phoenixes deep in conversation.

"I saw my father die, didn't I?"

She interjected suddenly and the two immediately fell quiet and looked up at her from where they were sitting; the statement made Aki pale slightly, confirming her theory.

"That's it! That's what you made me forget: my father's death!"

Chidori looked at the miko and her brother, she knew that this conversation was not meant for her ears so she ducked her head and rose to her feet.

"I think I'll leave you two alone for this doozy."

The girl left the room and she stepped inside and sat down where his sister was not a moment ago; the half-demon sighed and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands.

"That's part of it."

He admitted once Chidori was completely out of earshot.

"Well, what more could have possibly happened?!"

His eyes darkened at her statement.

"There's a lot more hidden inside that little box than you know right now, Kagome. Kagami-sensei's death was… a trigger that set off a series of events you wouldn't believe without seeing."

"But I'll see them soon enough, won't I?"

Clenching his fists, he looked away from her, tempted to stand up and pace the room out of pure frustration, but he remained sedentary, sloppily forcing control over himself.

"Yes, but there's a catch, Kagome."

Uh-oh, she didn't like the way this conversation was going.

"There's a certain time and a certain place we have to be in order to reverse what we've done. In two and a half months you'll have your memory back because in that time is the anniversary of the day I took it away."

He stood up and offered his hand out to her which she grasped and let him pull her to her feet.

"So, until that time, forget about everything that has to do with the box, enjoy yourself while you can and while you're doing that, I'll be doing my damnedest to talk you out of this."

She smiled a little bit, but it quickly faded when she noticed that he was serious; he let his hand linger on hers for a few seconds before letting it go.

"Come on, I'll take you home. Your demon must be wondering where you are."

'_He's not mine.'_ Her mind whispered sadly, she belonged to him, but not vise versa despite her declaration all those months ago in that concert with her rival, Ayaka, and Sesshomaru in attendance.

"_I'm fine being yours."_

He had said, but she knew that he never wanted to be hers the way she was his now; her claim on him was superficial at best, fictional at worst and this thought stayed with her as she said her goodbyes to the Dou-Hime and Chidori, on the ride home with her arms wrapped around the person who still cared for her and past the gates of the demon's home. She walked through the door into an atmosphere that felt as gloomy as she; the black lacquer box in her hands seemed to blend right in.

"Sesshomaru?"

She called out, but there was no reply; she checked the kitchen, living room and office, but didn't find him there.

"Hey, asshole, I'm back!"

She hoped that would prompt him out of hiding, but it didn't; only after dropping the box off in her room did she check in his and found him sitting on the edge of the bed with a half-empty liquor bottle in his hand.

"I'm gone for four days and you disappear in a bottle? You're not very good with separation are you, Sesshomaru?"

It was meant to be teasing, but the glare she received cut off her laughter before it could even begin; setting the bottle down the youkai rose up without a stumble or loss of balance and took a short, flawless walk up to where she was standing in the doorway. He grasped her chin and tilted her head up to his.

"You reek of that half-breed."

She knew he meant Aki and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.

"And you reek of rice wine."

Her mouth snapped back quickly.

"There was some business that I had to take care of with Aki, no big deal."

His eyes narrowed.

"You cannot be alone with him, he's too involved about you."

"Yeah, know that now, thanks for restating the redundant news."

A growl rumbled deep in his throat as he drew her up against him.

"I repeat myself to you because it takes multiple attempts for a single string of consciousness to enter that thick skull of yours. So I'll repeat myself again. You are _mine_, little miko, something I never wanted and if you don't like my treatment towards you, too bad; this is what happens when we lose control of ourselves and now we must face the consequences."

When he finished the anger on his side seemed to dissipate somewhat and so did hers; she took comfort that at least he was saying 'we' instead of 'I' or 'you'. What happened in that hotel room she couldn't blame on him, she was the one who jumped him in the first place, who told him to continue, begged him to even though they both knew he was on the brink of losing himself and together they pushed him over the edge. She glanced over at the bottle on the floor.

"You gonna finish that?"

She motioned towards it.

"What's it to you?"

He asked, she could practically taste the bitterness in his voice and rolled her eyes.

"You're not the only one who's had a shitty day; I just found out that my father's death wasn't an accident and my best friend's in love with me and I never knew it. Hand it over."

The miko thrust her hand out, fingers splayed wide, his golden eyes darted from her hand to her face before reluctantly passing the sake over, the top wasn't on so she just put the lid to her lips and tilted back; after two big gulps she pulled the bottle away and let out a series of coughs, handing the alcohol back to him.

"Smooth."

She choked out the moment she had her voice back; he watched her with amused eyes while sitting back down on the edge of the bed, taking another swig and licking his lips in a way that he knew would get the miko's attention. She caught it and shook her head, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Oh, no you don't. Nuh-uh. Not tonight."

Was it just him or were all demons horn dogs? After his little speech how could he possibly get in the mood? Yet she couldn't deny the way her body felt, even now; they were too close to each other, too alone, too dark outside, too comfortable of a bed. With a groan she stomped up and plopped down on the bed next to him, her hand once again reaching out, waiting for the bottle to fill it; with a smirk he passed the bottle over to her again and she chugged.

"This sucks."

She spat and a rare sound rang in her ears: Sesshomaru's laughter. _Laughter._ He had to be drunk or someone was going to die by his hands tonight; probably both.

"My thoughts exactly."

He cooed as he encouraged her to lie down on his bed and surrounded her with his body and warmth. All she could do in response was wrap her arms around him and cling tightly.

* * *

**Hello again all my remaining readers, and congratulations for making it all the way to the double digit chapter! Couldn't have done it without you. I can't think of a better way to sum up the old year by ending with a juicy chapter… well, maybe I can, but that's beside the point.**

**I've tacked on a little side story that I was going to put in another chapter, but found that there wouldn't be enough room so as a New Year's Eve treat you get a little yarn about Aki and Kagome, whether you read it or not has no effect on the plot, I just had the idea in my head and wanted to throw it in. Enjoy.**

**As always, thank you for staying with me,**

**Love's Essence

* * *

**

_To Hold Her Hand_

A proud five-year-old Kagome trailed behind the steps of her father with her brand new, just hemmed priestess garbs that now fit her body; her face lighting up as she passed under the shade of the Goshinboku and ran to catch up to Kagami who pulled ahead of her.

"What are we gonna do today, Otou-sama? I wanna play with the naginata again!"

He laughed and shook his head.

"First, we don't _play_, my dearest Kagome, we _train_ and second, we're going to be doing something different today. I have a special lesson for you."

This caused a bout of jumping up and down in uncontrollable excitement; she grabbed the hem of his sleeve and peered up at him.

"What is it? What is it? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

Her father placed a steadying hand on her shoulder silencing and calming her at the same time.

"You'll find out soon, be patient."

A smile couldn't help but touch his lips at the torture he was putting her through and motioned for her to follow him which she did without question; as they walked across the grounds of the small shrine they saw a young woman step by step come into view as she walked up the intimidating stone steps, behind her was a little boy holding her hand. The woman momentarily scanned the area and looked visibly relieved when she spotted the priest; she immediately changed direction and headed towards them. Not for all the candy in her Ojii-san's storage house could she take her eyes away from the boy at that moment.

"Ah, Miss. Nakano. I'm so glad you could make it."

The woman approached her father and bowed deeply, the child behind her quickly followed suit.

"I am honored to be here, Higurashi-sama."

Even at her young age, Kagome could tell that the woman before her father was deeply troubled and suffering, bags had set under the eyes of too young a face and her voice sounded tired and desperate, but this observation was short lived as the girl turned her full attention back to the boy. It was obvious to her that the boy was a descendant of a demon, there was no hiding it; he had fire red hair with streaks of gold, his pupils were slits encased in bright amber; at the center of his hairline sprout three long feathers that draped over head, crimson with golden tips, but it was the wings perched on his back and the tail billowing out behind him that brought most of the young girl's attention; they dazzled her with their colors deep and vibrant. Their eyes met and the boy quickly retreated to safety behind his mother's legs; Kagami gave his daughter a nudge to remind her it was rude to stare.

"I'm sorry."

She quickly bowed and apologized and the demon child peered out from where he clung to his mother's pant leg.

"Is this your son?"

He had to ask the obvious and the woman nodded in response, reacting defensively to her son's behavior; the priest walked up to the hanyou and squat down to his level.

"What's your name?"

He asked kindly; the child looked up at his mother for permission which she gave with another nod and pat on his head.

"Aki."

He replied in a quiet and shy voice; Kagami smiled wider.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aki. Hey, would it be okay if I went inside and had a talk with your mom? You can stay out here and play with my daughter, Kagome."

Again, the hanyou looked up to his mother for guidance, but it would seem for this request that Miss. Nakano needed assurance as well. He rose up from his haunches and turned to the nervous woman.

"He'll be just fine, I promise you. My Kagome is very good at playing with others."

She looked like she wanted to protest, but his persuasive hand guided her away from her son and to a building directly across from where the children were left alone.

"Be a good girl for me okay?"

Her father called back.

"Okay, Otou-sama!"

She cried and turned to the shy boy.

"Come on! Let's go climb the tree!"

Before he could react, she reached out and grabbed his hand, urging him to follow her, but the moment her hand touched his, a look of terror came over his face, Miss. Nakano stopped cold as well with the same look as her son, both look terrified not of the miko, but _for_ her. The two gazed upon her as if they were expecting something awful to happen; Kagome furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What wrong? You scared of trees?"

The girl didn't understand what was going on and pulled harder on the boy's hand.

"Come on, don't be scared! It'll be fun, cross my heart!"

When it was apparent that everything was fine, the woman turned back and continued to follow the priest to the room.

"Who is the father?"

Kagami immediately asked as he sat down, closing the shoji door until there was only a narrow strip for both parents to look out and check on their children.

"Sono."

She replied quietly, sounding deeply ashamed; he nodded his head, withholding all judgment.

"I see, the infamous Sono. I've met several of his children, but I must admit that your son has the most striking resemblance to the phoenix."

A stab of pain went through her at the mention of her child's father and she lowered her eyes to the ground.

"How long did he stay with you?"

The priest chose his words carefully so to cause only the least amount of stress.

"Five years. I was a freshman in college when we first met, dropped out when I found out I was pregnant, he promised he would take care of us, but when Aki was three he left the apartment and never returned."

Tears formed in her eyes and the man's eyebrows went up.

"Five years is a long time for Sono."

She shook her head.

"I was young and stupid. I thought he cared for me and our son, but I was wrong."

The fragile thing turned her head away and covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sob that escaped her lips; Kagami reached out a hand and rested it lightly on her knee.

"He did care for you and especially for the son you gave him, but his story is a typical one: phoenixes are so few in numbers they're almost extinct, he's just doing what he feels is right by his species. He chose you and he cared for you."

She whipped her head back around and gave him an angry glare.

"If he cared for the both of us, if he chose me, then why did he leave?! I could have given him all the children he wanted!"

She couldn't stop the hateful words from spilling free and upon the end of her outburst, her eyes went wide in horror and slapped a hand over her mouth, but he understood that she was still suffering.

"Because there are others that he chose as well. He is a desperate demon, Miss. Nakano, even if you gave him many children he wants a… variety in his offspring."

The woman knew all of this already, but upon hearing it made her heart ache all over again.

"Is there anything you can do to help my son?"

She asked quietly, trying to change the subject.

"What do you want me to help him with?"

Instead of answering, the woman reached out and opened the door wider so they could both easily peer through.

"Look at him."

She said in anguish.

"He looks so much like a demon, but everyone knows that I'm his mother, that he's a hybrid child, a half-demon. I don't want him to suffer anymore; his… _gifts_ are beyond his control and have caused chaos in my family."

"What are his abilities?"

He questioned while observing the boy.

"I-I don't know how to explain it… he can do things to people's minds: read them scramble them, wipe them completely blank and all with a touch. When he was first born my mother picked him up and he wrapped his hand around her finger, she immediately fainted and when she woke up she had no recollection of my relationship with Sono or that I had just given birth to her first grandchild. Almost two years of her memories of me gone in an instant."

He listened intently, if he was help the boy, he had to pick up on everything he could.

"Is that why you were so fearful when my daughter grabbed your son's hand?"

She nodded.

"Is hasn't been safe to let him outside, for everyone who touches him something always happens. Up 'til now, I've been the only one immune to his ability, your daughter is the first stranger to have nothing happen."

The priest smiled, a little pride welled up inside him towards his youngest.

"My daughter has a high concentration of spiritual power making her immune to demonic influence."

At this, Kagami rose up and she followed.

"I can help him, but I must warn you that what I'm about to propose will not be very easy for your son."

Miss. Nakano nodded, suddenly fearful for her child, but she was desperate, whatever he wanted to do, she and Aki had to endure. They left the room to where the two were in the process of climbing up the massive Goshinboku, or at least Kagome was climbing, Aki had hopelessly latched onto the trunk sitting on a branch barely twenty feet off the ground.

"Kagome, come down from there! Your mother will kill me if she found out I let you climb that tree."

The girl whined loudly, but fearlessly hopped down from branch to branch until she reached the hanyou; she stopped and held out her hand to him.

"Come on and jump with me! You can do it!"

He looked at her small hand, before slowly and cautiously extracting on of his own from the trunk and grasped hers; it was warm and soft, smaller than his hand he noticed, he never held a hand smaller than his before.

"Okay, now stand up!"

He did, still keeping himself close to the trunk; she tightened the grip on his hand.

"Good! Now close your eyes and trust me."

That part took a little longer; golden eyes met mahogany ones and then flickered down to the ground below that seemed so far away, but upon looking at the girl again and her lack of fear he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Hold on tight!"

She said and pulled them both over the edge, but in his fear he opened his eyes and let go of her hand; so focused she was on trying to get his hand back, Kagome forgot how quickly they were falling to the ground.

"Kagome!"

The priest cried and sprinted to catch his daughter, but he was too far away; the mother let out a strangled cry and dashed over as well imagining the worst that could happen. In a split second Aki saw Kagome was below him, her head about to impale the ground, faster than lightning and without thinking he snatched her hand back again and grasped it with both of his and opened up his tail and wings. The appendages that had never been used before sprang to life and followed instinct; he was flying. The little miko looked up at her savior with awe filled wide eyes and only one word seemed appropriate to describe what she saw.

"Cool."

They floated down slowly and safely; the priest calmed his nerves and walked up to his child while Miss. Nakano sprinted past him and scooped up her son in a tight embrace.

"Oh Aki, sweetheart, are you alright?"

The boy nodded, unable to speak for the tight squeeze his mother was giving him; Kagami gave his girl a quick once over and saw that she was perfectly fine before flicking her on the forehead.

"That was not a smart thing you just did, Kagome."

He said evenly and she rubbed the stinging area on her head and looked down, ashamed.

"Sorry, Otou-sama."

He accepted her apology by a pat on the head and squat down to her height.

"I need your help, Kagome. Go to Ojii-san's storage house and bring me the little box that's hidden in the corner under the ginseng root. Find me using that trick I taught you."

She nodded in understanding; he watched her dash off and then turned to the small family.

"Please follow me."

He led them to another small room, had Miss. Nakano sit on a cushion and Aki in the center of a pentagram etched into the floor; he lit incense and placed the sticks in the five tips of the star.

"Mama, the smoke hurts my nose."

The boy said, making a face and covering his nose with both hands; she wanted to go comfort him, but Kagami held out a hand and stopped her, shaking his head slowly while taking a seat next to her.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, it'll be alright."

She called and tried to do her best from where she could, but when she looked upon the priest again, he was all seriousness.

"I need you to understand something, Miss. Nakano, what I'll do if, you still want this, is to seal Aki's demon blood away the process will be very hard on him and there may be consequences later on in the future."

She looked scared and her voice proved it.

"Consequences? Wh-what consequences?"

Kagami sighed.

"Right now the human blood and demon blood in your son have reached a balance with each other; I'm about to destroy that balance. In order to control his demon blood and maintain that balance, he has to release his demon side at least once a week; the farther his human heart and his demon heart are separated the darker and stronger his demon side will grow and will eventually take over him and turn him into a creature you won't even recognize. Do you understand?"

She nodded.

"Do you still want me to do this?"

She nodded again.

"Yes. My son deserves to have a normal life, I'll do whatever it takes."

Right at that moment Kagome burst in carrying the box and was slightly out of breath, completely oblivious to the tension in the room as she smiled triumphantly.

"I found you!"

She stated and ran up to her father who put on a grin for her and caught her as she leapt into his lap.

"You're getting better."

He stated proudly and took the box from her; he opened it up and inside were necklaces with crystal pendants that had a hollowed out area in the center in the shape of kanji for "Seal". He removed one and opened up the top, with a quick prick to his finger he placed the bleeding area over the opening and filled it up.

"You ready, Kagome?"

He asked and she nodded, holding out her hand; the priest stuck her too, added the few drops of her blood to the mix and resealed the top. He placed the necklace in her hands.

"Go put this on Aki, my dear."

She nodded and walked inside the pentagram, knelt down in front of the hanyou and carefully placed the chain around his neck; he didn't understand, he was scared, knowing, feeling in his every fiber that something was about to happen and was wasn't going to like it, but there she was again, this fearless little girl who held out both of her hands for him.

"Don't be scared, I'll be right here!"

She said with a bright smile.

"If you're afraid just hold my hands, but you don't need to be afraid, my Otou-sama is good at this."

Despite her words, he slipped his hands into hers and she wrapped her fingers around his.

"Y-you won't let go?"

He asked, his voice shaking.

"I promise I won't! You can hold my hand forever and ever if you want to because from now on you're my friend!"

For the first time that day he smiled and nodded his head, mentally taking her up on her childish promise, believed her with his own being and she held his hand, even when he squeezed his hardest as the two sides of him were ripped apart, everything within him was changing, but her hands in his never did.


End file.
